Magical Prerogative
by AdamineTerra
Summary: With the war won and the foreign country liberated, all should be well in Lancet? The estranged princess was free, living securely under the roof of Fairy Tail. Her replacement was on the throne. Her cousin was her bodyguard. Fairy Tail was at her back. Wasn't all well? Apparently, it wasn't. When mages are found dead in her kingdom's streets. She must return, but will peace come?
1. Letter of Reccomendation

**(sighs) Yup. Yup. Yup. To those of you that guessed it, you're right. I can't stop writing about Adamine. Help! I've fallen in love with Adamine and can't get up. Someone call Life Alert! So, yes. This is it. This is the fourth story I've written for the Estranged Princess Adamine Terra. Her story should be over with this one. I think. Maybe, more likely than not. It just didn't feel finished given the position I left it in the last time. Yeah, she got the guy, but what of her country? Ya know.**

**To those of you who are unfamiliar with Adamine and her series, here is some important information.**

**This is the Dragon Princess Series with Adamine Terra as the main star. While this chapter is cut and fluffy, her life is most definitely not, so don't let this turn you off to her many stories.**

**Her stories in order are 1. Hunt and be Hunted, 2. Tablet and a Tome, 3. Magical Massacre, and 4. Magical Prerogative**

**I do have a spin off of her stories that aren't with her as the main character. Those are about the rather interesting OCs she meets on her journey with our fabulous Raijinshuu. See my page for those.**

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Letter of Recommendation

Diamond hard nails dug inside of a stone wall. With just the slightest amount of pressure the single blade that was no wider than a woman's slender finger easily dug inside of hard bespeckled granite. The nails made smooth, determined tracks in the granite of this underground cave, but these nails didn't belong to any old creature.

The diamond faceted lengths belonged to one creature in particular, a woman. For months this woman had been carving her history and the history of her homeland inside of this granite cave. It was a cave dug out by her own hands, and it was a cave that the woman had yet to be able to call perfect.

Most females that were twenty-one years old didn't live inside of caverns dug underneath a town named Magnolia. Most females her age didn't even think that a random hole in the earth was suitable for human habitation, and they most definitely didn't carve artwork into caves using their fingernails.

But, Adamine Terra wasn't most women.

As a matter of fact, she didn't really see herself as a woman at all. Adamine viewed herself as a female, a female dragon slayer. A young girl who had once been princess of a kingdom just across the pond from Fiore had given up her gender roles and her title to become nothing more than a simple wanderer, but here lately, her wandering had been slowing down.

Nearly a year ago, Adamine had wound up in the arms of old friends. She had tumbled at their feet unconscious and with hunters on her back, hunters that craved her dragon goddess mother and other hunters that had craved the crown Adam had worn on her head when she went by the title of Erianna.

Now though, those hunters were gone. For the first time since she'd been kidnapped from her princess bed at age five, Adamine could rest, and how did she rest? By joining the most powerful guild in all of Fiore, of course!

Grinning to herself, Adamine moved her arm in an arc to form the wings of an angel. Ever since formally joining Fairy Tail, Adam had searched for a home other than the Murphy bed that sat in the living room of Freed Justine's townhouse. After coming back from a job with said man, Adamine had found the perfect spot—a rock outcropping that was near enough to a stream that currently ran through her cave home. She'd been carving away at it ever since.

So far, Adamine's home consisted of four bedrooms, two and a half baths, a spa, game room, and a theater space—along with other miscellaneous rooms. Currently, Adamine stood in a large, round space that she and a man named Gajeel Redfox had carved out. Using his iron body and her diamond body, the two mages had easily carved into the rock with Levy McGarden directing them through a set of plans Adamine had drawn up for the underground structure.

Each mage that Adamine was closest to had a part in the creation of this place. Adamine and Gajeel had carved out the granite. Levy and Freed had been the demolition crew. Using Solid Script and Freed's runes, they had blown away at chunks of stone to let Adam and Gajeel get to the raw material they had to smooth down. They weren't the only ones to help Adamine set everything up in her home, though. Old friends that went by the names of Evergreen, Bickslow, and Laxus had done their part as well.

Laxus had hooked up a theatre worthy sound system within every inch of Adamine's house. With just the flick of her wrist, Adamine could summon rock, reggae, electro, and other genres to play all throughout her house. Currently, Adamine was hacking away at the granite walls of her home to the sounds of a band from Fiore that called themselves the White Stripes. The song "Seven Nation Army" pumped inside of her home while Adamine dug her claws into the walls.

After Laxus had hooked up the electrical system, Evergreen and Bickslow had done their part. Using a talent not often mentioned, Bickslow had hand-crafted jointed furniture to go inside of Adam's underground cavern, and Evergreen had taken care of the interior design. With Elfman to do all the heavy lifting for her, everything had taken shape quickly.

Lastly, Adamine's personal companion—a Hellhound that went by the name of Black Pearl—had scorched their signature into the granite to forever mark this home as Adamine and Black Pearl's abode. A crescent moon with a single star dripping off its tip hung right overhead of Adamine's cave.

So much had changed since Adamine had joined Fairy Tail, and amazingly, all of it was for the better. As someone who hated asking for help and hated putting other people in danger, the idiots in Fairy Tail had run headlong after her to force themselves at her side.

And, as much as Mina would loathe to admit it aloud, she was thankful. All those years on the run from her kingdom, on the run from people who wanted to extract her mother's soul from her body, and chasing after the man that had murdered her parents, it was nice to know that Adam had a place to lay her head every night. With Fairy Tail around she could actually have a… home.

A goofy grin crossed her lips for what felt like the millionth time, and Adamine finally finished drawing the legacy of her cousin—the man she'd handed the throne over to when she'd gone back to Lancet. No longer did Adamine have a bunch of psychotic Normans, what mages from Lancet called Normal Humans, trying to force her into marriage over her crown, and no longer did Adamine have to worry about another group of psychos that had hunted her down for the dragon soul that Zeref had preserved within Adamine's body.

Yes, the only living dragon other than Acnologia himself had been preserved by Zeref, a man that Adam hunted for the murder of her parents, inside the body of a five year old girl, and now that a Seith Mage who specialized in exorcisms had restored the Dragon Goddess Firmalione back inside of her human form, Adamine felt even more determined to hunt her mother down one more time. But, there was a catch. When Adam found her mother this time, she wasn't going to let Firmalione get away.

After she'd handed over her crown to her cousin Isaac, Adamine had vowed that she would hunt Firmalione down, but she wasn't going to be able to do it alone. She knew that much by the fact that Laxus and the Raijinshuu would hunt her down if she ever tried to sneak out on them. Adam would know. She'd been sneaking away from them ever since she was fifteen years old.

Once she was fully finished with her latest carving, Adamine moved her way to a diamond lacrima in the center of the floor. Inside of this space there were bookshelves that fully lined the walls from floor to ceiling. Adam had books on architecture, interior design, mythology, and legends of her home country, but even though the room was slammed down with literature, there were four stone slabs that remained completely blank aside from symbols Adam used to signify which room was which.

For the master bedroom there were the three symbols that Adamine had gotten tattooed from the base of her neck and down her spine. Those three symbols were the guilds she was a part of. Two of them were from Lancet, but the one at the very top of Adam's spinal column was Fairy Tail. Under that one was the very first guild that Adamine had joined, Kindred Spirit. It was a set of twin, tribal scythes that crossed between her shoulder blades. Beneath that mark was the mark of her cousin's Royal Guard. The symbol was a simple, hollowed out round shield with a tribal raven in flight appearing to shoot up her backbone. That symbol marked her as the third in line to take the throne should something happen to her cousins Isaac and Urian. It was likely the most important tattoo Adamine had on her body aside from the one that stretched the length of her left eye.

That mark had been the one that she'd gotten when she was kidnapped. It was the mark that had labeled her as a sacrifice to the Dragon Goddess, but now Adamine just viewed the tattoo as a permanent inking placed within her skin to show that she was the daughter of the Adamantine Goddess.

Even so, Adam frequently covered the tattoo up with a glamour. The only people that had ever gotten a good look at it was Team Natsu, Laxus, Black Pearl, and the Raijinshuu. The former only seeing it because Adam had to explain to them that she wasn't the bad guy when her presence had gotten Levy and Gajeel kidnapped.

With so much trouble she seemed to cause the guild, it was a wonder they permitted her to stay at all. Every time that Adam had wanted to leave, she'd gotten stopped by Laxus. He would snarl, "You're one of the most powerful mages around. The last thing I'm going to let you do is run off without joining Fairy Tail."

Shaking her head at how bossy the Lightning Dragon Slayer was, Adamine tapped her foot down three times against the diamond lacrima in the eye of a dragon carving. The four stone slabs shifted by unseen forces, and soon enough Adamine revealed her two guest bedrooms, the master bedroom, and a winding hall where the spa was. Why have extra bedrooms when Adamine was an unmarried woman with no children running about? The answer was simple. The Raijinshuu bunked here when they weren't harassing Laxus.

Well, there was the fact that although Adamine wasn't married… she did have a certain mage that she couldn't quite get rid of. Not that she was truly interested in getting rid of him…

Nibbling on her bottom lip, Adamine made her way inside of her master bedroom. She was merely on the search for a broom to sweep up the stone she'd tossed all over the library space, but there was something about the fact that Adamine wasn't the only one sleeping in the master bedroom that caused scarlet to light up her face.

She couldn't help the feminine mannerisms that seemed to arise every time she saw _him _laid out unconscious and graceless on their California King size round bed. It was a strange feeling for a woman who was always fighting her way through hell to suddenly get coy and girly at just the sight of a black and blue haired Seith Mage sprawled out on her massive bed. As a matter of fact, the feeling was almost distressing. Since she was getting more feminine and shy, did that mean that this man's presence was making her weaker?

Adamine roundhouse kicked that thought to the back of her skull as she padded barefoot into her master bedroom. Sure enough, as soon as she stepped past the thick, granite slab, she saw Bickslow tossed out on her bed.

For someone who always wore layers of clothing, Bickslow didn't hardly wear anything when he was asleep. Only a thin, black sheet kept his torso covered up, and Adamine bit down hard on her lip to halt the ridiculous grin slipping up her face at just the sight of _him _laying in _her _bed.

She felt like she'd won a massive battle at the fact that he stayed with her. As someone who was always so busily running from anyone that tried to get close to her, the fact that Bickslow had waited for eight years to finally have Adam on his arm was… awesome.

Sure, he wasn't the nicest. He wasn't the strongest. He wasn't even the richest or the most handsome, but what he had was more important than anything a woman looked for in a guy. He always kept her laughing. In a world where threats lingered in every shadow, laughter was something Adamine couldn't get enough of.

She felt her feet moving towards him of their own accord, and before she could tackle him awake, Adamine hissed, "Gotta get that damned broom."

Forcing herself to keep her mind on the task ahead, Adamine made herself do something that she secretly enjoyed doing—playing the housewife. She stepped into the master bath where her favorite thing in the whole house rested.

That thing was a massive tub that could likely fit three men the size of Elfman. Adamine had a certain secret thing that she did in that tub, and it was filling the entire thing with bubble bath then soaking to her heart's content. Occasionally, Evergreen would come over, and while Bickslow snickered something likely naughty about the two of them bathing together, the girls would relax in the giant tub to gossip and fix each other's hair.

Recently, Adamine had learned how to braid people's hair. As of currently, she had her hair twisted into a long braid that fell all the way to the small of her back. After joining Fairy Tail, Adam had thought she would lose the long hair she kept merely because she had no time to chop it off, but Bickslow had pitched a bloody fit, mentioning something about how long hair was sexier for something. Adam wasn't really sure what he said because Evergreen had backhanded him before he could explain the entire sentence.

Bare feet stepped around the giant tub, and Adamine opened up the closet to show off a massive storage space for all of her favorite big, fluffy bath towels and a whole bunch of skin creams and makeup Evergreen had thought Adam would like. She didn't know what antioxidants did, but Adam did know that she liked the tingling feeling the face wash made when she took those long baths.

Snagging the broom from the closet, Adam shifted around. She was headed back on her way towards the library when the only thing keeping intruders and animals from getting into Adam's house—Freed's runes—flashed to say Black Pearl had just come inside.

An icon of Black Pearl in her more Exceed-like Heaven Soul popped in the air. It faded away as soon as Adamine pushed her finger on a word that read, "Acknowledged." There were two words that came up when people entered the house. Those words were "Acknowledged" and "Block". If Adamine had pressed Block, Freed's runes would send the intruder flying catapult style out of the cave. So far, Adam had only done that once, and it was purely because she was an evil woman who wanted to see Bickslow get catapulted across Magnolia.

Snickering to herself, Adamine walked right back into the library. Her hands adjusted the broom in her grasp, and just as she was getting into position to rid all of the stone shavings from the ground, Adam heard clawed feet clicking against the granite floor. The footsteps sounded rushed like Pearl was running. Sure enough, when the Hellhound went round the bend of Adam's spiral staircase, Black Pearl was running in her Mortality Soul towards Adamine.

Black Pearl wasn't a normal Hellhound. At an early age she had been subjected to all kinds of strange experiments with her race. Zeref had tampered with a certain pack of Hellhounds and had miraculously found a way to store souls inside of them. It had been that experimentation that had given Zeref a way to store Firmalione's soul inside of Adamine. Through the storage of souls inside of the Hellhounds, Zeref had wound up putting the soul of a heavenly being and a mortal being inside of the canine monstrosities, and the Hellhounds had kept their Hell souls. Black Pearl could shift between her original, demonic form of a ravaging Hellhound that stalked on all fours, or she could become a five foot five inch humanoid canine similar to Panther Lily's transformation. If she didn't want to be either one of those, she could use her Heaven Soul to appear more like the Exceeds.

When Black Pearl came round the bend, she was barefoot in her Mortality Soul. A pair of knee length shorts covered up her legs as her bushy tail swished behind her. Toned, furry black arms pumped out of a simple tank top that she'd likely stolen from Adam's closet. The Hellhound may have been a whole five inches shorter than Adamine, but the beast insisted on stealing Adam's clothes.

Huffing and puffing Black Pearl raised her crimson eyes up to her companion. Her left eye had been marked with Fairy Tail's insignia. She had placed it there in order to copy Adamine's slave tattoo. Right now, that marking stared at Adam as Pearl puffed with her hands on her thighs.

"What's the rush? I thought you were training with Panther Lily," Adamine questioned. Ever since joining the guild Panther Lily and Black Pearl had taken a liking to each other. The Hellhound and the Exceed often tried to prove which weapon was better in combat, a bow or a sword.

Black Pearl's longbow was draped off her back, and her quiver hung loosely at her hips. It was odd to see the hound with her longbow instead of her typical crossbow, but Black Pearl liked to switch it up when she was training.

Stretching out to her full height, Black Pearl breathlessly explained, "I ran all the way back here after a courier met me in the woods. He gave me this." Black Pearl extended her claw tipped hand out to show off a letter slightly crumpled by Pearl's running with it in her fist.

As soon as Adamine caught sight of the royal insignia upon the parchment, her eyes flew wide. She knew that marking. It was the one on her back, and it was the same one on her master bedroom door. It was the mark of the Royal Guard. In other words, Adamine had just gotten mail from King Isaac Grigori von Kaiser.

"What would Izzy be doing sending me mail in the middle of winter?" Adamine wondered aloud only to get a shrug from her Hellhound. Getting mail from Isaac was normally never a good thing. Even though the royal cousins all tried to keep in touch, it was a little bit more difficult for Isaac given the fact that he ruled a country that was an ocean away. Her cousin and Prince of Lancet, Urian on the other hand was a little bit easier to find. He'd become the bartender for Fairy Tail and was a mage that had formed a team with Adamine and Pearl.

Why was Urian in Fairy Tail? Well, because of none other than Mirajane Strauss. Yes, the infamous playboy of Lancet had fallen head over heels with the demon Take Over Mage when they'd met in battle. Ever since then, the playboy had turned into a complete dork. Just the sight of Mirajane could jostle him so much that one second he'd be hitting on women for tips and the next all the glasses he was juggling with bartending flair would come crashing down. He had it bad.

Even so, Adamine tucked her thumb underneath the parchment. Her fingers broke the seal for one of Isaac's shades, shadow messengers he could control with his Angel Slayer Magic, to rip from the letter and attach itself to Adam's shadow. Instantly, a message was relayed from the intertwining of Adam's shadow to Isaac's shade. Everything that the shade had been sent to tell her was automatically downloaded into Adamine's mind without her having to listen to a word.

"Good evening or morning or whatever time you're reading this letter, Mina," Isaac's shadow greeted. "I'm sending you this in regards to an attempt that Lancet and Fiore have been discussing since the Magical Equality riots started. As you and I know all too well, Norman slavers have been hectically murdering and kidnapping mages. Racism is on the rise between Normans and Mages. And, the dying slave trade is trying to make a comeback. In order to prevent more murders or enslavement, the government is trying to get more active in stressing the similarities between Mages and Normans. King Toma has brought it to my attention that, perhaps, a Winter Grand Magic Games to be held each December would be a good thing. There would be two Grand Magic Games each year. One would be held in Fiore during the summer, and the other would be in Lancet during the winter. Since many Normans enjoy watching the Fiore Grand Magic Games and since the younger generation is more apt to accept mages in their lives, I feel as if this would be the best test procedure. So, in short, I'm pretty much begging you to convince Makarov to come to Capital Lance and let Fairy Tail participate in the games. I've already gotten Kagura and the master of Mermaid Heel to accept, and I'm waiting on word from Lamia Scale. Even if Fairy Tail can't come, I would be appreciative if you and Urian could come monitor the games. Your presences alone would encourage mages in Lancet to partake. Ever since making the notion public that Lance will be holding a Winter GMG, Norman slavers have been sending death threats to the castle. Just the other day, two of my assassins, Katja and Sven, found two dead mages from the guild Grimm draped over the fountain in the city's square. The Magician's Alliance has been wanting to imprison anyone with relations to the slave rink or the Lancet Black Market. Mages are getting antsy. They want something to be done, but I can't risk them enslaving Normans if I gave them special benefits. Every slave would become a tyrant if I gave them a chance. Peaceful protest is the best option, but that doesn't mean that situational murders aren't on the rise. I have precautions listed at the bottom of this document. Those will go over paperwork, entry forms, and anything else that Makarov may need to know. Have him send me a letter via this shade if he has anymore questions. Adamine, I greatly need your and Urian's help. We just won a war, and I don't want another one to break out over this. If I want my kingdom to run smoothly, I know that I'm going to need help from you and the rest of my Royal Guard. We're going to have to pull a Mages of the Round Table on this one."

Just as Adam had suspected. This wasn't good news. Her white teeth found their way to her bottom lip. Nervously nibbling on it, she glanced down to Black Pearl.

The Hellhound had finally caught her breath, and just as Adam looked to Black Pearl, Pearl looked to her. The words that came out of her mouth next were to be expected. "So, what are you going to do?"

Shrugging, Adamine folded the letter and sealed the parchment back away in its paper container. "I'm going to do what any good follower of Laxus Dreyar would do."

"And, that is?"

"Standard issue running to him and asking for the great Dreyar's words of wisdom." Tucking the letter in the back pocket of her camouflage jeans, Adamine added, "Wanna come with?"

Rolling her crimson eyes, Black Pearl pulled her upper torso off the wall Adam had finished carving into. "As if I have a choice in the matter. Are you going to wake up Sleeping Beauty?"

Flush infused Adamine's face at the exact reason that Bickslow was still unconscious in their bedroom. It was safe to say that last night neither one of them had gotten much sleeping done. He'd only gotten to bed recently, but Adamine, being her overzealous self after a roll around, hadn't had any desire to sleep with her favorite cuddle buddy. She'd been at the walls carving ever since. Waves of inspiration had assaulted her.

Her foot tapped down twice on the diamond lacrima imbedded into the cave floor, and Adamine watched the stone slabs cover themselves back up. "Na. Let him sleep. I think I knocked him out last night."

"I hope the two of you know what happens when you roll around too much," Black Pearl mentioned in a very motherly tone of voice. If there was ever anyone who cared for nothing other than the well-being of her comrade, it was Black Pearl to Adamine. Had Black Pearl not met Adamine a few years after her dragon mother had left her, Adamine would probably be much more ignorant of the human world than a woman her age had respect to be.

Shrugging, Adamine made her way up the stone steps. Her hands ran lovingly against the carved granite, and she traced the veins in the walls with the flat side of her nails. Perhaps, it was odd to say that Adamine finally felt relaxed after all this time, but it was the truth. In the arms of her comrades, she had found sanctuary.

* * *

The guild after the Grand Magic Games and the odd climatic changes that had immediately occurred afterwards was… to put it plainly… extremely boring. Laxus reclined in his wooden chair to lazily run his eyes over the guild. A lot of the members were in the guild instead of on jobs. The request board itself was a mighty empty hunk of cork at the moment as well.

He looked on at everything dispassionately. The largest difference that had even been made was likely Adamine's addition to the guild, and she'd almost been here for a year now. That woman added a very interesting facet to his side of the guild. Why? Because she was partly a member of the Raijinshuu.

She had gone out with the group and himself many times until her cousin had gotten involved in the guild, but Prince Urian typically kept close to the Strauss family. That single ebony head stood out in stark contrast amongst the snow toned strands of that group. When Adamine decided to go out on a job, it was oftentimes Urian that accompanied her. The Ice God Slayer and the Adamantine Dragon Slayer were a mighty combo in battle. When the relatives had challenged Laxus and Freed to a battle, they had thoroughly handed the dragon slayer and rune mage their asses.

Right about now, Laxus could go for a brawl, a challenge from Adamine, even a simple task to do. All of this sitting around business was getting him antsy, and when the Adamantine Slayer strolled in with her Hellhound flying beside her, Laxus felt like his call had just been answered.

At least, he felt that way until he saw the look in her emerald eyes. Adamine Terra only had three modes: shy but goofy manga obsessed writer, cold-blooded killer, and calculating strategist. Judging by the firm line of her typically pouty lips and the furrow of her caramel brows, Laxus knew he was about to be approached by the strategist.

As soon as Adamine reached the elevated section of the guild hall, she took a few quick steps to her usual seat, pulled it over between Laxus and Freed, and then slapped a piece of parchment onto the wooden table. "We need to talk," she explained in a short tone.

Curious looks raised from Freed and Evergreen. Adamine was usually upbeat and with her nose buried in manga. The fact that she just said the words every man feared coming from a female's lips was enough to get questionable glances filtering through the air.

"It's from Isaac," Laxus examined as he took in the seal of the King of Lancet. "Is this about another mission to pick up foster kids from the Magic Railroad?"

The Magic Railroad was a system consisting of Safe Houses, pirate ships, wagons, and other forms of transportation that Adamine had been creating since she was fifteen years old. She was titled the Lady of the Railway because the young runaway princess of Lancet had created the railway in order for Lancet mages to get out of a country that enslaved mages for their race alone. It was often used by children, and it was a complex network so much so that only Adamine Terra knew every nook and cranny for getting mages from their once ruled-by-tyranny kingdom and to free countries like Fiore. Now that King Isaac had taken over the country, via a war where he'd enlisted help from mages in Lancet and Fiore, many Lancet families were putting out job requests to have their children delivered back home. Even though, King Isaac was on the throne, though, it didn't mean that mages still didn't ship out to live in free Fiore. Racism still abounded.

Laxus was surprised when Adamine shook her head.

"No, it's something different. Isaac wants Fairy Tail to come back to Fiore, and I want your and Makarov's opinions on whether or not it would be wise to partake in a Winter Grand Magic Games. Do you think you could get your grandfather to see me?" Adamine fingered the piece of paper on the table. Her eyes searched Laxus's for advice.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?"

"Because he's upstairs, and mages that aren't S Class aren't allowed upstairs."

Laxus sighed, "Adamine, I highly doubt that he'd be upset to see you upstairs. You're more S Class than most of the idiots around here." His eyes strolled to a pair of bickering mages. Yes, Adamine was much stronger than Flame Brain and the Ice Queen.

Even so, Adam shook her head. Caramel locks that were a chaotic mixture of waves and spikes flew around the air she encompassed. "Nu-uh. Mirajane and Erza are here. One will throw a rule book at me, and the other will show her inner demon. I'm not in the mood for either."

With a groan like she was really putting him out with this request, Laxus rose from his seat. His hand mussed up the spiky top of her head, and he groaned, "Fine. If I have to. You gonna get your cousin?"

Beaming at him, Adamine chimed, "Course!" She let him get right to the stairs leading to Makarov's office to add, "Thank you, Fetch It."

As Freed and Ever's eyes grew wide at the taunting phrase, Laxus just brushed it off. A few people could get by with playing with Laxus. Adam was one of the rare few. She'd saved his life a couple of times. He'd saved her life a couple of times. A little teasing between comrades was warranted.

So, Laxus made his way up the stairs. Ever since the town of Magnolia rebuilt the guild, everyone had to take a little time to get the layout of the place. The infirmary was much larger, and so was the width of the hallway. Not much had been altered aside from the size of things, but it still had taken a bit of time to adjust. The biggest improvement? The massive spas.

Now, though, Laxus easily maneuvered the length of the hall to rap his knuckles across the master's door. "Gramps, Adamine needs to talk to you," Laxus called out only to hear the sounds of paperwork ruffling and some scuttling along the cherry stained hardwood floors.

After what sounded like a rat had gotten loose in Makarov's office, the man opened the door up to reveal a massive yawn. Peering inside, Laxus saw what he often saw after Team Natsu had gone on a job together. That would be paperwork and lots of it. The title of one document shown out in particular amongst the others. "Fairy Tail at it again. Salamander burns down historical landmark in the town of Iris," the piece read.

"Why didn't she just come up here?" Makarov yawned. Yes, it was apparent he'd been napping instead of filling out paperwork from the Magic Council. Well, could Laxus really be surprised? Makarov often pushed paperwork to the last remnants of his desk. Right when the deadlines to submit came in, he got college student pumped on energy drinks and magic resolutions to reduce tiredness. He truly was no better than any twenty year old in university.

"Didn't want to get snapped at by Mira or Erza for being on S Class territory."

"Mmm," was Makarov's ingenious response. "Should likely consider her for the next trials. I'm sure she'd be successful."

"And not her cousin?"

The snicker crossing Makarov's face was tell-tale. "Boy's too busy chasing barmaids instead of taking missions." Black eyes strolled over to where Urian was mixing Cana some odd concoction while Mirajane made up an order someone had requested. As soon as Mira walked by the former playboy turned Mira's lapdog slipped with his grip on the glass. He nearly dropped the bottle he'd tossed in the air, but as soon as Mirajane was out of his line of sight, he caught it right at the last second. Had no one been watching his starstruck expression at Mirajane, they might have thought the professional bartender was just using extra flair to make the drinking experience more entertaining when in truth Urian Lancet just had it bad for Mirajane Strauss. "Besides, Urian is more of a bartender for the guild than a true mage. They'd likely choose to be partners though."

"That is if Black Pearl or Bickslow doesn't complain," Laxus added in, knowing that the Hellhound was never far from Adam's hip and that the Seith Mage tried to play it off like he didn't always know where Adamine was at all times.

"I would assume Freed and Bickslow would be partners," Makarov mentioned. He was enjoying their laidback conversation until he suddenly got serious. One look at the tense expression on Adamine's face, and Makarov was suddenly matching it. "Do you know what she wants to meet with me about?"

Laxus shrugged his shoulders. Having this easy conversation with his grandfather was a nice change of pace. The tension that used to be between them was still there, but it was lessened now.

"Not really. Adam said something about a Winter Grand Magic Games and having Fairy Tail come to Lancet. She has a letter with the Royal Guard's seal on it."

Makarov's black sheathed feet hit the first step as he nodded his head. "I'd heard rumors of Kings Isaac and Toma possibly holding a Lancet version of the games this fall. What do you think of going to Viking Country before Christmas?"

"Shoulda figured there'd be rumors out about it," Laxus admitted. "I dunno. It beats sitting around here and waiting for something entertaining to happen." A chair suddenly flew his way, and Laxus casually destroyed it with a single bolt of lightning. Go figure a brawl would start at the exact time that a group meeting was about to be arranged.

When Laxus's eyes fell upon Adamine who was staring at the letter with her cousin Urian, he saw a table flying her way. The unsuspecting female was about to get smashed in the skull by the sudden projectile. As soon as Laxus got the idea to destroy the object, Adamine released faceted diamond spikes from the many vertebrae in her spine. The lengths pinned the table to a sudden stop before retracting into Adamine's strategically pleated vest. Yeah, that was Adamine. The princess who never needed to be saved. She was the dragon that guarded the castle. The real damsel in distress in their relationship was probably Bickslow. Speaking of, where was he?

"The kidnappings have picked up ever since Isaac announced for the games. There's no doubt about it. Norman Slavers are pissed that the king is taking away their only occupation," Adamine explained to her cousin and the present members of the Raijinshuu. "The Magical Equality Act has been hard on them. The only livelihoods they had are now illegal, and they're being prosecuted for something that's been legal for ages. If you look at it that way, Norman Slayers have every right to be mad. Without the slave trade of mages, some of their families aren't going to be fed."

"How can you sympathize with them, Adamine? They're tyrants, dictators! They don't deserve any sympathy for the fact that they've been holding people in chains all their lives!" Evergreen protested above the brawl in the room.

Emerald eyes cut towards the fairy. "Because I am the Princess of Lancet. It's my job to see to the well-being of mages _and_ Normans. Just because my race is mage doesn't mean that I should ruin the lives of perfectly good people. If you get down and dirty on the truth of slavery, you'd see that it's not completely awful. A lot of mages that would be running around on the streets or doing acts of crime to feed themselves are given a place to sleep each night and food to eat. Just because they aren't getting paid in Lancet coin or Fiore jewel doesn't mean that they aren't getting rewarded for their work. A lot of free mages in Lancet don't even know where the next place is they'll be sleeping at. Yes, slavery is wrong. I get that, but it's only the large plantations and rich organizations that are cruel to their slaves. If slavery had been so bad for all of the mages, they wouldn't be going to their former masters and asking for their jobs back," she justified as she folded the letter atop the table.

Freed nodded his educated head in agreement. "It's the truth. The problem here isn't in slavery itself. It's more of the delivery and collection of slaves. Then, the treatment done to them by the wealthy is also a key factor. Most Normans don't even own slaves because they're so expensive. A Lancet mage slave goes for about 200,000 jewel. In Lancet coin that's 20,000 coins. The average yearly salary of most Lancet Normans isn't even close to that amount when you subtract everyday expenses."

"That doesn't make it right to put a price on a human being!" Evergreen countered, and Urian nodded his head.

"She's right, Adamine. If I had it my way, we would enslave Normans and see how they liked it," Urian put in with his two cents.

Tensely, Adamine pinched the bridge of her nose. She looked to be trying for patience and not finding it. "And, this is why Isaac doesn't let you govern legal affairs. You're too blinded by your own racism to see that Normans aren't all bad. It's the douche bags like Gatlin that you see when you think of normal humans. Is it not enough that we put them in jail for kidnappings? Is it not enough that we have the death penalty for murderers? These people—people with wives and husbands and children to take care of—have to sit in a dungeon and wait to see if their trial results in the death penalty or if they can be released back after years in jail. No, it's not fair for a family to see the murderer or kidnapper of their child go free after ten or so years, but it's also not fair for the slaver's family to sit at home as the trial goes on waiting to see if Daddy is going to come through the front door after ten years or if he'll never be walking through that door ever again!" Adam was about to slam her hand down on the table to put emphasis on her exclamation point when Laxus snatched her by the wrist.

"I got Gramps like you asked," Laxus mentioned, hoping that the presence of the master would get them to chill on Lancet political strategy for a second.

Adamine spun around in her chair. Her skin, lightly dusted in tan by the warmth of the sun, changed to pink as she gaped embarrassed at the master. Her head dipped deeply, and she apologized, "So sorry, Master Makarov. I didn't know I was in your presence."

Makarov gave an easy-going kind of smile. "Don't worry with it, brat. I was kind of enjoying hearing you act like the Princess of Lancet for once. It's much different from the manga loving brawler we normally get."

"I-uh…" Adamine flushed deeply and avoided Laxus's gaze. He knew why, and it still cut him to the bone every time she dipped out on talking politics when he was around.

Before the war that had landed her cousin on the throne, Adam and Laxus had a rather… heated… discussion on how Adamine should quit acting like she was the princess of Lancet if she was going to keep running away from it. Ever since that day, Adamine never talked about her country when he was around. He had thought that they were okay after he'd apologized, but it was apparent that words weren't enough.

Makarov cut through some of the tension by asking, "So, what's this about King Isaac wanting Fairy Tail to come to Lancet?"

Making a determined nod though still avoiding Laxus's gaze, Adamine explained, "My cousin sent me this letter. I would explain it all to you, but he delivered it through one of his shades. May I connect your shadow to his? It's simpler than me telling you."

While Makarov gave the nod, he questioned, "This isn't going to make me forget that I ever met you. Is it? The last time I let you perform a spell on me, I wound up forgetting your name and face until we met again this year." Yes, if Makarov remembered correctly, he had met Adamine when she was fifteen years old. She had requested for Makarov to add the guild onto one of the stops for the Magic Railroad. Makarov had agreed without really realizing that the deal came with him having to forget that he ever met Mina and her friend Ignatia. One second, he'd been shaking his head in agreement. The next second, he had his mind wiped clean of Adamine's existence.

Looking guilty, Adamine replied, "No, sir. Just standard issue message retrieval tonight."

"I'm ready then." Not knowing what to really do, Makarov extended his hand.

Snickering at his reaction, Adamine simply unsealed the document. Immediately, a black shadow shred from the letter. It looked like it was going in for the kill when it dove straight at wide eyed Makarov, but instead of sending the man to the ground, it assaulted his shadow.

The whites of Makarov's eyes flooded with black as the words of the letter were delivered directly to Makarov's mind. While Makarov was processing the literature, Laxus asked, "Where's your boy toy?"

Adamine tilted her head. She was about to say her usual phrase of "I don't understand that reference" when Black Pearl whispered, "Bickslow."

"Oh!" Her face flooded with pink that had Laxus cocking a blonde brow. Those two hadn't been playing with leather and chains again. Had they? "I left him at the house. He's still asleep."

"Uh-huh. It's eleven in the morning. He's normally up around now," Laxus replied, thinking of the many reasons Bickslow would still be KOed at this hour.

"Yeah, he didn't do much sleeping last night," Adamine admitted. She bit down on her bottom lip to keep from grinning at something. Between the lip biting and the flushed face, the answer to just why he didn't get much sleep was obvious. The super kinks were at it again.

"Really now," Urian slyly replied. "Do tell. Did you do any of the things that I—" Black Pearl cut him off by shoving her furry elbow into his gut.

"Praise Mavis that someone stopped her before she explained everything," Evergreen groaned in disgust. "Last thing I need to know about is y'alls sex life. After that handcuff present I got for my birthday…" She visibly shivered.

Adamine looked ready to ask some question about why it was a bad thing to talk about someone's sex life when her partner in crime loped into the guild. Immediately, Adamine's head turned to the direction of her favorite prankster. As soon as their eyes met, his totems came flying her way.

"You left!" one complained.

"Where were you?" another questioned.

"Why did you leave us?" the one buzzing around her head asked.

They frantically danced around her even though Bickslow looked embarrassed by the response. He drew up his usual chair then gruffly mentioned, "You weren't there when I woke up."

Hmm. Laxus could just imagine Bickslow's reaction to not finding Adamine in their giant, oversized bed when he woke up. Actually, no. He didn't have to imagine. All Laxus had to do was remember. One time he'd stayed the night at Adamine's house. It had been more to keep from walking drunk through the streets of Magnolia at four in the morning, but nonetheless, Laxus had stayed the night in one of Adamine's sweet guest bedrooms. Around twelve or so, he'd opened his eyes up to Bickslow's dolls freaking out as they tried to find the dragon slayer that had been kidnapped by Evergreen to go shopping during a street festival. Even though Bix would loathe to admit it, he had it bad for the woman he'd been chasing for the past seven or eight years.

Adamine brought Laxus to the forefront of his mind by tapping her nails against the paper Makarov was still downloading. "Isaac sent me some mail. He wants us to go to Lancet for a Winter Grand Magic Games. I'm seeing what Makarov thinks." A sly grin crept up her face, and she teased, "You freaked out again. Didn't you?"

"N-no! Why would I freak out over you?"

His throat starting turning hot when Adamine leaned close to him. She nuzzled her caramel head against his mantle while cooing, "Because I'm so darned cute and you call me your best baby when we're alone."

Bickslow looked like he was getting hot under the collar when he threw his head away from Adamine. Her blatant cuteness was one thing he couldn't handle in public. Open pervertedness, Bickslow could handle that. Teasing, that was cool. Her rubbing up on him like a cat in heat and looking adorable at the same time. No. That was something he couldn't do. It really screwed with his thinking process.

"Your best baby?" Laxus snickered. A grin slipped up his face before he started laughing aloud. "Next they're going to tell me they take long walks on the beach in the moonlight."

Urian was right there with him. "Oh, Adamine, you're my _best _baby," he taunted. "Ah, I can hear it already!"

"Somebody's whipped!" Laxus added in.

Evergreen though she was giggling behind her hot pink fan defended, "Stop. I think it's cute."

Freed laughingly mentioned, "You haven't heard the worst of it. She calls him Bix Bix, and he falls for it every time."

"Bahaha! I see it. I swear, I see it. Bix Bix, could you reach this shelf for me. It's too high," Urian mocked.

With her head still resting on his shoulder, Adamine explained, "Actually, no, Uri. There's nothing I can't reach in the house because I designed it for a six foot tall human. The phrase you're looking for is 'Bix Bix, please, open this jar for me. I can't do it'." She batted her lashes up at him for affect.

To Bickslow's obvious dismay, Black Pearl added, "To which he responds with 'Anything for my best baby'."

Guffaws abounded until Bickslow growled, "Yeah. Yeah. Laugh it up. While I'm over here basking in a relationship with a beautiful lady, you guys can continue your singles' circle jerk." He leaned his head over to Adamine. In an attempt to be sneaky he whispered, "Don't tell them anything else that could emasculate me. Remember that I'm the guy in the relationship."

Before anyone could respond to that, Makarov coughed into his hand. "I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear any of that. Adamine, could we discuss this in my office?"

"Yes, sir." Adamine pulled herself up from Bickslow's shoulder to rise.

She stood beside Makarov who motioned for Urian and Laxus to stand. "You two come as well. There are some things to discuss before I tell you my decision." His head shifted towards Adamine. "And, Mina, cut it with the _sir _stuff. I know I'm old. You don't have to remind me every time you speak to me."


	2. Twin Devils

**Hiya! Gotta apologize for the lack of enthusiasm to write, but school has been trying to drag me into a bottomless pit of self loathing. Alas, I have traversed through its paper engulfed hell to deliver you this! A chapter of rivalry! A chapter of tension! A chapter of... ah, hell. You know what. Screw it. I'm not going to tell you any more. You'll just have to read it to find out. Heh. Heh. Heh. Aren't I just the most wicked of writers?**

**Yeah. Yeah. Glitter Spires and Warrant, I can hear the two of you mocking me in the background. Hushity hush!**

* * *

Twin Devils

Makarov's office was much like Adamine remembered it. She'd only been in here a couple of times. Once when she asked Makarov to add Fairy Tail to the Magic Railroad. Twice when she'd met him after finding her cousins passed out on a railroad because they'd missed the train and chased it from Hargeon to Magnolia. Finally, third was when she sat down in the chair right now.

Urian took a spot on her right, and Laxus took a chair on her left. Black Pearl just hopped up on Adam's lap like she normally did. Where Adamine went, Pearl went. It went without saying that Pearl was allowed up here when Adamine was.

Leaning her back into the cushions of a brown leather chair, Adamine checked the master's office out. It looked like master Makarov. Tatami mats had obviously been the unit of measure for this space. He had a few bookshelves and his leather chair behind his desk. The entire space would have been neat and minimalistic had there not been stacks of paperwork all over the place. She took one look at a headline and understood. The demons of destruction were labeled properly: Titania and Salamander. Grinning at two members of the guild she'd become rather fond of, Adamine promised that she would help Makarov with the paperwork once this meeting was over.

Makarov's voice cleared out, and Adamine turned her attention to the man. He asked, "Is there a way for us to hold a conference with your brother, Urian?"

The Ice God Slayer stated, "Of course. As long as you have the shade, you have an instant way to communicate with him. Think of it like a lacrima that can send signals overseas and pull those soundwaves all the way back to Fiore. The only thing you can't do is see him."

"I'm guessing that's why I'm up here?" Laxus wondered. His answer was Makarov's smile. Resting his fist under his chin, Laxus reached for the shade. "Since it's long distance, I'm going to need some extra power."

"You charge extra for overseas?" Urian wondered.

Merely casting Urian a glower, Laxus let Isaac's shade wrap around his forearm. Shadows blended onto Laxus's arm like some kind of banded tattoo. Once that connection was in place, a projection of Isaac appeared in front of them. The problem? He wasn't exactly expecting their call.

Hands were running shampoo through ebony locks, and water ran down Isaac's barren body. As steam filled up in the massive shower stall within his castle, three faces hastily turned away. Adamine was the only one unaffected by the sight. "Hey, Zac!" she greeted happily, eager to see her adoptive cousin after months.

"Adamine?" Isaac wondered. His head slowly turned around. As soon as he saw a projection of Laxus, Makarov, Mina, and Uri all sitting around, hands flew to his groin. "What the hell?"

"You said to call if we needed anything. Well, we need something," Adamine explained.

From Adamine's lap Black Pearl groaned, "Why? Why do we always have to walk in on someone naked?"

"Blame Laxus," Urian snickered.

"Don't blame me! Gramps wanted to call!"

"I didn't want to call him in the shower!" Makarov howled.

Still covering himself in the shower, Isaac hissed, "Could you have at least given me a little warning? Great Angel, Adamine." Tuning in the steam, Isaac heard knocking at his door.

"My King, is everything okay in there?" came the sound of Katja's voice.

Ah, yes. Exile. After assisting in a major civil uprising, the former assassins of Lancet turned into the Guardians of the Kingdom. Exile had turned against their slave masters to serve a woman who was called by nobility the Estranged Princess. Katja and Sven took places as Isaac's personal assassins. They always offered to send a fleet of their assassins whenever Adamine told them she was going on a mission. And, the rest of Exile?

Well, Hollis had turned into King Isaac's regent. When Isaac left the capital, he had Felix serving at his side as a bodyguard and the main general over all Lancet military forces. That warrior had created a new legion of soldiers called Foresters. These men guarded the kingdom and trained naked and unarmed in the woods for ten weeks. What did they call those ten weeks of survival? Boot camp. Guarding foreign and trading affairs was Colin. The man, as perverted and distracted as he may often seem, was surprisingly well versed in the world of stocks, though that was likely due to the money he often smuggled in his assassin days. He had singlehandedly created a booming economy that thrived off of something other than the enslavement of mages. Each member was turning Adamine's kingdom into something beautiful and lively instead of icy and harsh. Isaac and his officials were changing the kingdom for the better one step at a time while Adamine and Urian worked overseas as emissaries. It was finally coming around. Now, to stop the murders.

Getting Adamine's mind out of the political gutter was Isaac receiving a towel from Katja's honey brown hand. He wrapped the cloth around his hips before stepping away from the steam. Laxus's Thought Projection followed him until Isaac entered his bedroom.

Over there, it was already night time. Isaac was likely preparing for bed. As soon as he exited the bathroom, Hollis's red head appeared. "Yo! If it isn't the most beautiful girl in the world!" the new regent, former assassin, proclaimed. He waved his hand in the direction of the projection. "Katja had told me Zac was on the Shade with you. So, how's it been? Got knocked up by that Seith Mage yet? You two are into some freaky shit, so I'd be surprised if you weren't already—"

A leather boot to the face finally shut up Hollis, and after the thrown shoe was caught in Hollis's fingers, Isaac sighed, "How many times do I have to tell you not to just barge inside of my damned room!" His voice started as an exasperated whisper then grew an octave with each word. It was safe to say this was a frequent thing with the two men.

Cinder let loose an angry squawk on Hollis's arm. Flames rose like the ruffling of feathers on the one arm Hollis could never cover. She didn't appreciate Isaac's tone of voice.

"My lady is on the Shade?" Felix piped up. His head appeared over Hollis's. As soon as he caught sight of Adamine, he dropped to one knee. "My lady, it's been too long. May I say that you look as battle ready as ever? Also, I bring news from North Lancet. The shield maidens of my village aspire to your power. My lady, you are true warrior."

"Adamine's on the Shade?" sounded from Sven and Colin at the same time. The assassin and the Gatekeeper appeared in the room within a cloud of smoke.

"Hey, sexy lady, when are you going to come back to Lancet and teach me about some of that freaky shit you and your Seith Mage are into?" Colin wondered, actually tucking away his _Play Spell_ magazine to take part in a conversation for once.

Sven elbowed Colin in the gut before getting down on one knee. "If only you were here for me to extend my greatest happiness in seeing your lovely face, my lady," Sven greeted. "I haven't left the training fields ever since you showed me the weakness in my attacks. I hide less in the trees now and more in the shadows."

"Myself as well!" Katja chimed with a rare smile on her usually serious face. Ever since the liberation, she seemed to do a lot more smiling now. It made her beautiful. Adamine's appreciation only grew when Katja pulled her shirt away to reveal her abdomen. "I'm not as defined as you are, but you can clearly see the indentions of my abs coming in. Also, I think that I miss you."

"I miss all of you, too!" Adamine cried out, easily getting into this conversation. "Hopefully, I'll be able to come in soon. If things go as planned, I know that I will."

"Are all of you forgetting the point of this call!" Isaac roared, shadows flashing over his face from the ire steadily growing in him. As he reigned his self control back in, he let his typical masquerade mask cover his eye. That mask further sealed away shadows that his closed eyelid let get through.

That eye was to be covered at all times. Even in the shower, Isaac kept it closed. As soon as he opened it, all light would be sucked up inside of him. The creature that had gifted him with his demon slayer magic was also the same one that taught him angel slayer magic. The control over darkness? It was Light Angel magic.

What everyone had once thought was a Shadow Demon Slayer was actually a Light Angel Slayer with a demon sealed inside of him. That much had been revealed half a year ago when Isaac took a visit to Fiore, a visit that had gone horribly wrong.

Katja bowed deeply to her king then turned on her comrades. Gloved hands snatched Hollis by his collar and Sven by his ear. Kicking Colin in the ass, Katja stated, "Yes, my king. Excuse us."

"And, cut it with the _my king_ shit. I'm barely over you given the new government," Isaac growled.

Katja threw the boys out before grabbing onto Isaac's silver door knob with her glove. Tossing him a wink with her hazel eye, she replied, "Whatever you say, _my king_."

Hands ran through wet hair, and Isaac grumbled, "Amazing that a country can even be run with those idiots commanding it. Anyway, Makarov, you needed me?" His one purple eye settled on the mustached man taking in the members of Exile.

The look on Makarov's face was plain enough. It read, _Exile's changed._ And, they had. The five assassins had learned to laugh and love. They were no closer to anyone than Isaac, Adamine, and each other. Although they could still use some social skills when talking to others, they had made great strides to lose their former assassin titles.

Poisonidan and Poisoneva, Katja's and Sven's former titles, were turning into stories told to little children to get them to be good at night. The Heavy Metal Solider, Felix's old name, was no longer a berserker who would ransack a village in search of one man. He was a giant that haunted High Lancet. Dark Haze, Colin's alias, was now just an event when thick fog rolled into a town. The Crimson Phoenix, Hollis, was now a demon that lurked high in the mountains never to be heard from again. They were all turning their former visages into fairy tales because of a Fairy Tail mage. That mage was Adamine, and her fairy tale was the Demigoddess of Lione. According to all these new tales, a demigoddess built of diamond chased the demons away with the help of a Dark Angel and an Ice Giant.

So much was changing, but it still wasn't enough. Only yesterday Katja and Sven had reported a body draped over the capital's statue of Thor and Lady Sif. Normans were rebelling against Isaac's current push for equality, the Winter Grand Magic Games. He needed Fiore's help. Again.

"Indeed," Makarov replied now that Isaac was settling that careful eye on him. "Do you have a date set for the games? You mentioned for it to be held in December. It's already December now."

Isaac nodded his head. A wavy lock of hair tumbled down on his forehead, and he explained, "Toma and I advertised the games last month just to see what kind of reaction Fiore mages would have. So far, I've been contacted by Sirenia of Mermaid Heel, Sting Eucliffe of Sabertooth, Babasaama of Lamia Scale, and a few others. Blue Pegasus actually offered to design advertisement for the games. Fearing what kind of sexualization they would do, I politely declined, but I think they're going to do it anyway. Oh, well. They have a large fan base. Either way, after the encouragement, we decided December twenty. That week is the First Week of Remembrance where people celebrate the lives of their deceased loved ones. Weddings and festivals will be going on. It's one of the few moments in the kingdom where everyone is happy. Crime typically goes down during that week, and we hope it will stay that way during the games."

"Not a bad idea," Makarov mentioned. He gave himself a second to think before another question came to mind. "Will there be an investigation going into the incidents at the fountain during the games?"

"Though Exile will be participating under my kingdom's group titled the Royal Guard, they will be undergoing an investigation as their teammates partake. I was hoping that Urian could play on our team if you would allow it, Master Makarov." The brother's purple eye looked to the ice blue of his half-brother.

"I see no problem in that. Besides, a match between Adamine and Urian would be one for the record books. I would bet my money on our Diamond Goddess," Makarov snickers.

Raising her chin, Adamine states, "Not so sure about that, Makarov. You've yet to see Urian's God Slaying in full force. He's not an opponent to be taken lightly. Also, like his father, he's a trickster."

Urian snickered from his stretched out spot beside his cousin. Prodding her arm with the leg overhanging the arm of a chair. Urian laughed, "Aw. Come on, Mina. Ya don't gotta go and butter me up now. Firmalione's noted for her cunning. There's a reason that a blind woman became a general under Acnologia's command."

Unlike all the other dragon slayers who had lacrima and real dragons to train them, Adamine had a dragon turned human training her. When Firmalione had been human, the dragon had been a blind mystic who foresaw each battle Acnologia entered. When his camp was attacked, Firmalione risked her own neck to save him. Seeing her cunning and ferocity in battle, Acnologia turned her into a general.

According to rumors, she had been his lover. When she sold her soul to Zeref and betrayed Acnologia, the man went wild. He turned so wild that he became the dragon everyone now fears. It wasn't like Firmalione had betrayed him for no good reason. When your bastard boyfriend kills your teacher in a fit of battle rage, you kind of get upset and realize your leader isn't all that good at leading.

Even though Adamine never believed those rumors, she knew Firmalione had been connected to both Zeref and Acnologia. Her last words to Adamine after she'd been turned human had been enough proof. The future seeing woman had stated, "I promised Zeref that I would become his dragon, the one to battle against his worst enemy Acnologia, if he could alter my dragonification."

Those words and another few that had hinted at Adamine and Bickslow's relationship becoming more permanent had gotten underneath her skin. Firmalione could see far into the future instead of like Charla's clairvoyance. The Exceed could see minutes. Firmalione could see years and ages. The idea that Firmalione knew something about Adam's love life that the slayer didn't know was unnerving. She was just now getting used to not having to wake at dawn light to run away from potential hunters. For her to have to take care of a mate… that was frightening.

Clearing her throat, Adamine asked, "And, what of the murders? Will you have us partaking in the investigation as well?" Though questions of Lione were still bubbling in her head, Adamine knew that she had no time to be worrying about her mother. Lione was safe. It was Isaac who needed her help immediately.

"I had mentioned to Sabertooth about there being a reward for mages who can find anything on the murders for me. Any kind of suspicious behavior is being rewarded with coin or meals, depending on the needs of the informant," Isaac explained, hinting at the sad state many mages were in now that some slave masters refused to take them on as hired hands. The streets were where many of them resided, and it was no place to stay with people hunting mages in the night. Isaac was already undergoing design schematics for shelters.

Makarov's ever intelligent head bobbed. As he stroked his mustache with a studious expression on his face, he was thinking of something to say. Laxus beat him to it.

"How do we know Fairy Tail and the other guilds will be safe during the games? Shouldn't there be precautions taken for them as well. Not all guilds will be strong enough to defend themselves," the blonde Dreyar wondered.

Obvious appreciation glittered in the gaze of Makarov, but he pulled it back. Laxus desired to be the master of Fairy Tail. He needed to ask these kinds of things without being rewarded. Such was the thankless job of a guild master.

"The Royal Guard will be over the guilds. As soon as I see which guilds are willing to partake, I'll have them and the Magician's Alliance tending to them. Also, high risk guilds like Fairy Tail and Sabertooth will be given the assistance of the Royal Guard. Since Sabertooth and Mermaid Heel are already signed on, I have the Mer bunking with us and the Sabers are going to be watched over by Katja."

"Ha!" Urian burst out. "Kat take care of those hooligans? Just the bare brushing of her skin over one of theirs could kill someone if she wasn't actively controlling her magic."

Even though Adamine didn't want to agree, she nodded her head with Urian's outburst. He was right. Almost immediately after being born, Katja's mother had fed her poison. Over time, the girl developed an immunity to all the concoctions the toxinian had her take in. Though it was a powerful ability, it was also a crutch. Katja couldn't eat food without fearing for it decaying in her hands. She had to be hand fed by others. She couldn't touch skin with another person other than her brother, and that was only because he'd been fed the same poison. But, where Katja couldn't touch another's skin, Sven couldn't kiss anyone. He could touch skin but never make love. In Adam's mind, Katja had wound up with the short end of the stick.

Adamine couldn't imagine a life where she couldn't touch those she loved. It was a Lancet custom to kiss friends upon greeting. Hugging was a normal thing. Katja could do none of that. At least, not without layers over her skin.

A low growl sounded over the Thought Projection, and Adamine looked to Isaac. Obviously, he wasn't pleased that Urian was pointing out Katja's most intimate embarrassment. With his voice going all kingly, Isaac stated, "That's the precise reason I'm placing her over Blue Pegasus as well. One of those idiots touches her, and she'll put them to sleep with just a touch. Keep the chaos down to a minimum I hope."

Black Pearl let out a low chuff from her lips before spreading her grinning fangs up to Adamine. The two of them were sharing the same thought. _Those ladies' men were about to meet the one woman who couldn't be wooed._

"Do you have any other questions for me, Makarov?" Isaac wondered, his eyes darting to movement at his door. He looked ready to scowl before his lips subtly parted.

"No. Thank you, Isaac. That will be all. I know it's late in Lancet. I'm sure you want to get to bed," Makarov ended.

Urian's lips pulled into a slight grin when Laxus's Thought Projection caught a Shade entering Isaac's room. Immediately, the god slayer knew something the others didn't. "Yeah, Izzy. Why don't you enjoy some phone sex with Kagura while the rest of us single ladies try to get a ring on it?"

The Angel Slayer looked positively flabbergasted at Urian's comment, but before the man could get any word out, scowly faced Laxus turned the projection off. Isaac faded away like a bad television connection

"Well, that's enough sexual innuendo for me," Black Pearl stated, hopping off of Adam's lap to stand on Makarov's desk. "So, Makarov, that gives us ten days to train before we hit Hargeon, eh?"

"Indeed. Do you think that will be enough time to prep everyone?"

"I don't see why not," Urian stated. "Last games were held in June. Six months have gone by, and Fairy Tail hasn't gotten any weaker. I say we just tell everyone to do as they will until the groups get settled."

"Isaac never mentioned the teams," Laxus pointed out, interested in the conversation around him. Adamine could just imagine that he wanted to partake in the games again. He'd been quite the asset last games.

"The paperwork is right here." Shifting aside the fines from Team Natsu's last mission, Makarov swept his hands across Isaac's letter. The Royal Guard's symbol lit up then created a holographic form that rolled out on Makarov's desk. "It's not too different from the last games. There are five main team members, and a reserve. With Urian trading over the the Guard, we won't be able to use him."

"And, you're currently leaning towards…" Black Pearl let her words fade out, but there was the unmistakable movement of her crimson eyes that said, 'Yo! Pick Adamine!'

Still, Makarov didn't look too eager to spill any insight. Grinning in that playful manner of his, he mentioned, "I think I'll have to see just who works the best together and who's the strongest after these next ten days."

A sudden heat filled the air when Adamine and Laxus caught each other's eyes. Steel grey met brilliant emerald. The obvious intensity between the two long time rivals was enough to make Makarov's brows raise.

Never did Laxus seem to have a rival that was his equal. Upon looking at the measured stare the two comrades were giving each other, Makarov decided that Adamine was to Laxus as Natsu was to Gray. Perfect rivals. The diamond and the lightning bolt. Whodathunkit?

"Think you can surpass me for once in your life, Sparky?" Adamine taunted, her fangs lengthening at the prospect of a challenge. Her fingernails were lengthening, elongating and changing to faceted lengths that reflected the exterior sunlight.

"Funny question considering that you've gotten lazy with my teammate, Stoner," Laxus countered. Lightning crackled lightly. Not enough to cause damage to the furniture but enough to get his point across.

When Adamine rose up, so did Laxus. The two of them looked ready to throw down right in Makarov's office as Urian and Pearl simultaneously whispered, "Here we go again."

Their announcement had a slight fissure split through the trembling of the earth and the static in the air. Both of the teammates turned their backs on the master. Laxus's coat flew behind his back. Adamine's long locks flowed behind her.

It was Team Camo Skinny Jeans versus Team Fur Lined Coat when both mages appeared at the stairs overlooking the bar. "Freed!" Laxus commanded, getting the green headed guy to jerk his gaze towards his master. "It's time to train."

Amazement glittered in Freed's eyes, and the man actually flushed at the intense gaze Laxus was directing towards Table Raijinshuu.

"Pearl, let's show these boys how girls can do it like a dude," Adamine chimed, tossing Laxus a playful grin. She was all fangs as she looked up at him.

Their rivalry was palpable when they each took different staircases towards the bar. At the door Laxus left with Freed at his side. Adamine wasn't far behind. She had her shoulders back, and her hellhound was already shifting into a demonic state.

Black flames licked around her feet, and now that the hound had mastered the darkness within herself, she could train in her wicked state.

Long, ebony claws clicked across the hardwood floors. Black flames climbed with each step, and when the flames gave way to burn slowly around Black Pearl's clawed paws, she revealed her skeletal face.

Black Pearl in her Hell Form was a sight to behold. Her face was pulled away to only a canine skull. Her spinal column was fully revealed from neck to tail tip. Patches of fur covered most of her body, but around the sides of the ribs, that fur parted. Black Pearl's body was a single, black flame that rolled around. The tongues of each tendril licked between her ribs as she walked behind her dragon slaying master.

Laxus had his demon in the form of Freed Justine. Adamine had a Hellhound at her beck and call.

When the guild doors closed behind the two of them, the Raijinshuu breathed, "Oh shit. Not again."

* * *

**Aye, y'all! I was just wondering. Who out of the Royal Guard is your favorite? The greatsword bearing Felix? The quiet and elusive but totally horny Colin? The flirtacious but loyal Hollis? Or, could it be that you like someone who's more of the forbidden fruit type? The Untouchable Poison Siblings? A girl whose skin is poisonous but her heart longs for true love's caress? A young man who strives to be the strongest for the woman he dotes upon yet closes himself off to strangers in the daylight?**

**All poetic fun aside, I was just curious about that. Why? Because I'm writing stories about them of course! I'll put up a poll to see who out of my OCs is your favorite. Don't forget to vote! Why am I doing this? Because I'm a nosy little thing that loves to hear the opinions of my peeps.**


	3. Madness

**So, since I've been behind on all my stories, I owe you an extra chapter tonight. Oh, don't forget about the pooooooooooooooooll! (Random yodeling)**

* * *

Madness

_The Gaillon Sea…_

The winds were harsh. Something she was having to get used to despite her absolute hatred of the cold. Even so, she had no desire to go under the deck of the _Winter's Tale_. Though the inside of the barge was nothing like one would expect a pirate ship to be, she had little to no desire of going under the deck.

No, she was leary. Her face was made up of tense lines, and she stared over the choppy, grey sea. It expanded far and wide out from her lunar eyes, eyes that glittered under the lunar star herself.

To the dark haired woman leaning against the railing on the main deck, the ocean was an endless beauty. It was as if someone had created the lines of the earth only to rub at them like someone would do a charcoal drawing. The end of the world always seemed like it would be in sight somewhere along the horizon, but it was truly just smudged away as the earth continued its circular growth and wrapped around itself forever.

Kind of like herself…

Thick lashes shadowed pale skin, and the pirating stranger let loose a sigh. Yeah, definitely like herself. So many ends. She'd ran from many of them. She was much like the warrior princess in the manga she held currently between her fingers.

It was titled _Erianna Lancet: the Demigoddess of Lione_, and it was penned by none other than the runaway princess of Lancet herself. Though some may look at this comic and believe it to be a wild tail, others, like this seafaring stranger, knew otherwise. This manga wasn't just manga. It was a journal, a recollection of the many adventures the Fairy Tail mage princess Adamine Terra had gone on, and for some reason it called out to her.

Black nails glistened against the pale pages as the wind tried to ruffle them, and the stranger smoothed her hand across a certain drawing that made her heart swell. It was the drawing of the six main characters and their hellhound companion.

They stood outside the fictional guild, Lightning Gem. Their arms were raised in caution minus one male and his key rival: Erianna. Owen and Erianna stared each other down, lightning flashing between the two rivals. Spiro had his hands on Erianna as did the shapeshifting hellhound. Aletta and Ian had their hands on Owen, trying to keep the blonde haired lightning mage from brawling with his rival.

In the middle was a dark haired girl named Rika. Her pale hands pressed against the chests of the raging mages, and she looked to be playing mediator between the drawn argument.

Though this was just one of many scenes Adamine Terra had drawn in her fictional recount of her adventures, this image was the stranger's favorite. Team Diamond Charge resembled key members of Fairy Tail. There was the lightning mage, the fairy mage, the spirit walker, and the demon shell. There was also the hellhound and the diamond force. But, the dark haired one in the middle was an Impact Mage, like the stranger was. Also, she was identical to the stranger in coloring and stature.

Smoothing, her fingers one last time over the page, the stranger lifted her lashes. Moonlight glistened against her silver gaze like the shimmering sea around her. When the shadow of her nose lifted to reveal scarlet lips, the stranger stated, "I'll know soon enough."

* * *

_Meanwhile in Fiore…_

"You have a weakness, Adamine! You need to get over it!" Black Pearl called out from the other end of the pool. She was in her Mortality Soul, the feminine and canine version of Panther Lily's transformation. To cover up her furry body, the hound had on a yellow polka dot bikini that she'd stolen from Adamine's vintage clothing drawer.

Yes, the stubborn and ferocious dragon slayer had a thing for playing dress up. Rockabilly and pin-up girls were her favorites.

Right now, Adamine was doing her best pin-up swimsuit shot by wearing a sexy, red polka dotted one piece. A strategically placed white bow was settled to draw attention to Adam's abundant cleavage, but the rest of her body was sheathed to leave something to the imagination. Adamine's long hair was also done up in a badana, her handy-dandy camouflage bandana.

Though her appearance was sensual and teasing, her stature wasn't. Upon meeting Black Pearl for training today, she hadn't expected the gym bag her hellhound carried to have a swimsuit inside of it given that it was the middle of winter. Also, she hadn't expected for her hellhound to lead her to an indoor pool.

Thus, Adamine's face was stark white. So white she would make paper appear tan, and her nails were sunk deep into the door that had been sealed away by Freed's runes. Damn that bastard. According to the runes, Adamine had to swim in the deep end for them to release. He knew she was afraid of water! Deep water.

So many years of being on the run within the hull of a pirate ship had given her dread. Bombs would bast, slamming home into the hull of a ship. Water would fill. Their heads would go under. Wicked currents. Gargled screams. The bodies… always the bodies.

Adamine shook her head hard. "No! I'm not gunna do it!" she barked, reminded of her inability to escape thanks to Freed's cheap trick. She would have to remember to beat him within six inches of his life when she got out of here.

His rules were simple. Learn to swim in the deep end of the pool or remain in this room for the rest of the training period. Laxus and Freed were plotting to make sure they had a spot in the games. They wanted a spot. She wanted their heads.

Running a hand down her muzzle, Black Pearl floated on her back. She stared at the wooden beams that spanned overhead. "Adamine, you have a weakness. A big one. You can't even win a single fight against Juvia because of it, and she shouldn't be stronger than you. I know that water is a weakness against your Adamantine Dragon Slaying abilities, but you should still be able to defeat her because you're cunning. Instead, you turn stark white and throw in the towel. That is not the Adamine I know."

The slayer bared her fangs and hissed—actually hissed—when Pearl flung water in her direction. "Pearl, you know why I hate deep water. Try almost dying in the Gaillon Sea a couple of times to see if you don't get an aversion to it."

_Good point, _Black Pearl thought as she floated on her back. Though it wasn't a well known fact, Adamine was a bit of a hydrophobe. She hated deep water because of the many near drownings she'd succumbed to in her life. One drowning, Adamine had been attacked by a kraken and knocked unconscious. That had resulted in a Seith Mage having to rescue her because he'd followed the woman after she'd ran away from the rest of the team. Her fear of water had only deepened. Thankfully, she had yet to fear the shallows.

Pearl couldn't imagine a world where Adamine was afraid to take showers. Actually, the hellhound shivered at just the thought.

"I was hoping that I wouldn't have to do this, but it seems I have no choice," Pearl announced, her voice lilting at the end. The hound lifted her furry paw then snapped her clawed fingers. Immediately, the men's dressing room opened up to reveal… Bickslow.

The reaction the hellhound got was entertaining. Adamine's body slammed against Freed's runes, causing the rules to light up behind her, and she hissed at him while crimson ran up her skin. Adamine didn't just have hydrophobia. She also had fear of people knowing when she was afraid. Though Black Pearl didn't know which phobia that was, she was positive Adam had it. Having Bickslow, someone she loved, know she hated water was a horrific revelation for Mina.

"You bitch," Adamine snarled. "Why the hell is _he _here?" Though she was braced against the wall like a caged animal, her eyes darted from Black Pearl then to Bickslow. Pearl. Bickslow. Pearl. Bickslow. Finally, they settled on Bickslow. He was approaching her.

"Aye. Aye. Chill out, Stoner. Pearl just told me she wanted you to learn how to swim is all, and since she can't get you in there, she thought I could." He held his hands out like he was trying to keep an animal from attacking him.

As Adamine stepped away from her, keeping herself firmly pressed against the wall, she asked, "Why do you think you can get me into the water? No one's been able to get me to swim in twenty-one years. I don't think that will change anytime soon."

Bickslow ran a hand through his mohawk. The mischievous glint in his eyes was enough to send Adamine on edge. Grinning at her, he explained, "You see, Mina. That's where you're wrong. You're getting into that water with me, and there's nothing you can do about it."

As soon as Adamine registered the meaning hidden behind those words, she tried to slam her eyes shut. Too late. A flash of emerald later, and Adamine was standing perfectly still. The tremors that had wracked her body abruptly stilled. She stared wide eyed, quivering only her bottom lip. The only reason for that was because Bickslow was controlling her lightly. Some movement was purely hers, but it was him who got her feet moving.

"Come," he commanded, forcing her feet to step one in front of the other towards him. When she stood within an arm's length, glaring up at him though her eyes were blank, he urged, "There. Now that's not so bad. You're already in the water."

Her head tried to jerk down, to realize the truth though she felt ripples bouncing against her sandaled feet, but Bickslow was having none of it. "Nuh-uh," he teased, pinching her chin and keeping her blank eyes settled onto his glowing ones. Without looking away from Mina for fear he would capture Pearl's soul as well, Bickslow asked, "You gonna stay and watch?"

There was a definite splash behind him as Pearl adjusted her body. In a few moments he caught furry feet in his peripheral. Pearl shook her black fur out just as she would had she been in her Hell Soul then laughed, "And, see you two in the throes of passion or possession, I should say. I think not. Enjoy yourselves." She gave a pause as she picked her gym bag up. "But, if she's not out of here in one day, I'm coming back to force her into the deep end. Tough love and all that jazz."

"Got it," Bickslow stated, hearing the girl's dressing room doors close.

As soon as he and Adamine were alone with only the sound of the water licking the perimeter of the pool, she snarled, "I hate you."

Bickslow's lips curled. The corners twitched as he took in the sight of Adamine without control of her body but still with the ability to speak to him. That was the one thing she'd demanded when they'd gotten involved. He could do what he wanted, but she had to be able to speak. Yeah. They got just a little kinky with their magic. Hey, who could blame them? Human possession was the key to Kink City. A place that had Bickslow as the mayor.

"Tell it to someone who cares," Bickslow replied, dropping Adamine's chin to back up into the water. "We'll take it slow at first. Let you get used to everything before I go deeper."

Ah. There was the quirking of her lips that Bickslow was looking for.

With a grin on her face, Adamine snickered, "That's what he said."

After so many years of being an innocent little dragon slayer, Bickslow's girl was finally learning dirty humor. He loved it.

Tapping his chin with his index finger, Bickslow mentioned, "Hmm. Yeah, I am recalling a certain time when I said that to you. I believe the place was your castle after I sieged your castle. Pun intended."

"Sieged my…" Adamine looked confused then her mouth formed a perfect O. Yeah. She understood what he meant. Laughing, Adamine explained, "Sorry, Bix, but that night I think I was the one to put the dragon to rest." Her eyes rolled to give a pointed look towards Bickslow's purple swim shorts.

Damn. Bix sure was glad no one was around to hear that. He would hate it if the fact got out that he was the submissive one in their relationship. Adamine… could be quite… domineering if you knew what he meant. She definitely didn't just sit back and relax.

Ignoring the blush inching up his throat, Bickslow stepped until the water was up to his waist. "Do you want to go on without the possession or…" Bickslow let his words form a blank for her to fill in.

Dark brows rose when his answer came in the form of a bitten lip and shaking head. Her body, flushed scarlet due to his possession, fought to shift towards a reserved posture, but his possession wouldn't allow it. All he let Adam have was her control over her face. That was it. It was enough for her to tell him, his eyes weren't shutting off any time soon.

When she never verbally answered, Bix asked, "Why not?"

Like she was a positive magnet to his negative, Bix drew Adamine in through their link. They were waist deep in the water when Adamine stated, "Scared."

That was obvious. Through the Mate Link he'd accidentally formed with her because of a kiss directly to her soul, Bickslow had formed an unbreakable bond with the little slayer. After their physical bodies had joined as their souls had, the two could share magical power like balancing weights on a scale. Also, he knew her emotions just as well as she did.

And, damn. She was scared. It had been powerful enough to cause goose flesh to rise on his skin, but connected to her like this, Bix had to fight the tremors she was sending out through her soul.

Smoothing his fingers through her hair, Bickslow stated, "Don't worry about it. You're my best baby, Adamine. I've got your back."

"And, my front?" Adamine questioned, raising her possessed eyes to his green orbs.

"Baby, I've got every inch of you." As if he couldn't help it, He leaned down the short distance to the tall woman he now called his. His lips pressed lightly against hers, little butterfly whispers of his skin to reassure her that he was there physically as much as spiritually.

Even though she was a little more relieved, that didn't change the fact that she was waist deep in the water. And, her skin was turning. Her fangs had lengthened and her nails had become pointed, faceted lengths that dug into her clenched fists.

His head leaned back as his hands trailed down to her hands. Once he'd gotten her to unclench her fists, he felt blood dripping onto his hands. So scared she cut her palms with her claws. "Don't worry, baby. I'm right here, and I'm a good swimmer. Remember this, you're the sperm cell that swam to the egg when all the others didn't."

Quirking her lips, Adamine grinned at his chest.

"Ready to go in further?" he wondered, feeling her tense up against him. "We can wait longer. Wade it out. Pearl said she wouldn't let anyone get in here while you trained." When she kept her muscles bunched, he added, "If it makes you feel any better, I could always possess Freed to walk into a strip club again."

"A strip club for men?" she asked.

"Of course. He may not have come out of the closet yet, but that doesn't mean the neon sign over his head isn't flashing." Bickslow kissed Adamine's forehead when it tightened so hard she'd put lines there. "Now, come on, Stoner. Sooner you get over this fear, the sooner we can send him to the Wild Cherry."

A tight nod signaled for him to back up, and Bickslow eased himself deeper. They were up to their chests in their water before Adamine started tensing up again. Even so, he continued to urge her with light kisses against her cheeks, her lips, her nose, and her forehead. His thumbs ran comforting circles over the backs of her hands.

He felt like he was on his best boyfriendly behavior as he got Adamine to the very spot she could no longer touch at. "You've got this, baby. One more step, and you're floating," he coaxed.

"What if I sink?" she asked, fighting the urge to turn to stone in fear. Bickslow could already see her skin cells flipping over to reveal their diamond backing.

"You won't sink if you don't turn to diamond," Bickslow stated matter of factly. "Just think happy thoughts. Freed in a strip club. Freed in a strip club. Adamine on a stripper pole. Oh! Whoopsie. How did that one get in there? Are we thinking happy thoughts for you or me?"

"Bickslow on a stripper pole," she chanted. "Bickslow on a stripper pole." Her fang worried her bottom lip as she took a step to where he was treading water.

When her claws sunk so deep in his arms that she drew blood, Bickslow had to stifle the urge to wince. Great Mavis, that hurt like a mo-fo. But, he could do it. He'd been through worse than ten diamond nails sinking into his biceps, and besides, it wasn't like it was the first time. Just… all those other times he was a bit distracted.

"Can I close my eyes?" she whimpered, trying not to look at the water all around her.

Instead of answering, Bix cut off all possession. Or, as much as he could given the fact they would always be connected by a thin strand of magic. The sun kissed skin that was all Adamine's returned, and Bickslow had to admit, she looked good all wrapped up in his possession. But, normal Adamine was fabulous. Especially when she was treading water like a boss.

With a ridiculously stupid/proud look on his face, Bickslow pronounced, "Aye! Look at my Stoner. Swimming like a real beast."

"I am a beast," she hissed, holding back a scream when her body almost dipped under.

Her fangs gritted. Her nails tightened on his arms, but for some reason stupid, stupid him didn't want to tell her that the runes had fallen away. "Aye, Mina. Wrap your legs around my waist," he urged, oddly not being sexual in the slightest.

"W-why?" she asked, more like screeched, when she nearly submerged.

"Couple reasons really. One, your nails are about to rip my biceps straight off the bone. Two, I can hold you if you do," he explained, instantly feeling silky legs latching onto him. Once she was wrapped around him like a snake, his hands gripped the taut ass that had been driving him crazy since seeing her in that suit.

Her head nuzzled in tightly to his neck, and Bickslow didn't even dare to comment on the silent tears dripping down his throat. Oh, hell, no. Not going there.

Moistened lashes swept across suntan skin, and Adamine whispered, "I just figured out what your greatest weakness is."

Huh? Where the hell was that coming from? Going with it, Bickslow just kept treading water. "What?" he asked, shifting to look at her wet eyes.

"Tan lines," she stated, nervous humor escaping her lips.

Rearing back from her face, Bickslow scowled. "What the hell are you talking about, Stoner?"

"Your mouth is tanner than the rest of your body because of your armor," she stated, looking up only to hide her face in the crook of his neck when she saw the water.

Yeah. He grinned. Again. Like the idiot he was.

Tilting his head back, Bickslow play threatened, "Want me to let go?"

"NO!" she howled, sinking claws and… fangs into him. Her little canines dug inside of his trap muscles but didn't draw blood. She was holding onto dear life as Bix's eyes watered. The things he did for love.

"Then hold that pointed tongue of yours when your life is in my hands. Now, how about that strip club?"

Sudden shifting caught Bickslow's attention, and Adamine got a determined look on her face. "Possess me. Let's go get him."

* * *

Laxus wasn't sure whether to prepare to defend himself or run screaming when Adamine popped out of the woods wearing her sexy, vintage swimsuit. He'd just recovered from Freed telling him that she'd escaped their trap. Now, those emerald eyes turned to twin flames as the slayer stalked towards them.

"How did she get out of there so quickly?" Freed hissed, backing up a step. His hand was on his sword hilt in an instant, and even though Laxus had been sure Adamine was here for him, her eyes were narrowed on Freed.

She stalked. Slowly. Carefully. Steadily. The look in her eyes screamed revenge. Laxus was about to admit that they'd fucked up big time until Adamine snapped, "Now!"

In a flash of green magic, Bickslow snagged Freed with his Human Possession.

"What the hell, Bickslow? Hoes before bros? Really?" Laxus barked when Freed was taken by surprise.

"Aye, she lets me live in her house and eat her food for free. Can you really blame me?"

"We're three days from seeing who gets to the finals! This is madness," Laxus snapped back, honestly entertained by this whole charade. Though he'd never admit it. What happened in the Raijinshuu. Stayed in the Raijinshuu.

"No! This. Is. Fiore!" Adamine appeared in front of Laxus. Hiking one leg back, she planted it firmly on Laxus's chest. He hadn't even realized she'd used her Secret Dragon Slayer Art: Split Fissure behind him. When Laxus found himself falling into the darkness of a pit, he also heard Freed screaming, "No! No! Anything but _that_!"

Instantly, Laxus knew. Wild Cherries.


	4. Winter's Tale

**Hmm. My chapters appear to be shortening. I'm sorry for that. I've got an aspiration of about 5,000 words per chapter, but that's been difficult for me for some reason. Likely, because we haven't reached the main action. Oh, well.**

**In other news, I hope you all love pirates and rum. Also, I have to extend an honorable mention to Warrant-For-Arrest or the TheLooseCannon (same writer) because Erika, Crage, and all the crew on the _Winter's Tale_ are her characters. They stem from her story Trace of Fairies. I suggest giving it a looksee.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Winter's Tale

With three days having come and gone, the guild hall was bustling. Eager expressions were glued to the skin of eager participants. Some looked to be on the edge of their seats. Others were laid back.

Some of the laid back few?

Well, it shouldn't have come as much of a surprise when Adamine, Black Pearl, and Urian strolled into the guild late in the morning. Laxus's ultimate rival appeared refreshed and easy-going. She even had her latest finished manga hanging from her fingertips as she entered. Not only did she have that bit of literature on her person, she also had one of Isaac's messengers wrapped around her arm.

The shadow wrapped like the rings on a raccoon's tail on her forearm before sliding down her body to connect to her shadow. Adamine was absorbing information with one eye turned fully black from the messenger and the other eye keeping watch out for where she was walking.

Judging by the smug grin on her face and that of Master Makarov's, the two of them knew something no one else knew. Ever since joining the guild, Adamine had taken a spot amongst Erza and Mirajane at the master's side. One was his knight. Another was his beauty. Adamine was his Diamond Goddess. Those three women knew everything there was to know before anyone else.

When Adamine bypassed the Raijinshuu to head directly to where Makarov was perched on the bar, Laxus's blonde brows drew together. She was up to something. He could sense it.

Not one to let his rival ever get the upper hand on him, Laxus raised a brow to Bickslow. When the man just shrugged his shoulders, Laxus rose up from their usual table. "I'll be back in a second," Laxus informed when Freed looked ready to follow him. Immediately, Freed got the point. Laxus was about to gather a little intel.

With his hands in the pockets of a pair of hunter green pants, Laxus strolled casually up to the bar. Grey eyes skimmed lightly across Makarov's black ones until he laid his elbows on the counter. Waving at Urian for a coffee beer, Laxus mentioned, "Late this morning, Adamine. Someone try to trap you behind the creek?"

Glaring about Freed's carefully placed trap this morning, Adamine hopped onto a barstool. Mirajane tossed the woman her usual breakfast of a strawberry and banana smoothie with diamonds for her to crush inside of it, Adamine met Laxus's grey gaze. She never left eye contact with him as she crushed the diamond in one hand.

Sparkling powder tumbled into her glass, and Adamine stirred to diamond powder into the smoothie. "Funny that you would mention that, Laxus. I did happen to come across some runes telling me that I had to swim the creek instead of taking the bridge. Look. My hair's still wet." Adamine picked a lock of her wavy, caramel hair up then tossed it behind her shoulder. "What about you? Ten in the morning is a bit early given that you should be training."

"The Raijinshuu and I decided to meet for a morning workout. I heard that you'd been training with Urian as well as Pearl in the mountains. Sure you're still strong enough to tie with me?" Laxus gave her a questioning look over the rim of his mug before picking up a fork to cut into an omelet.

Tension was still in the air as Adamine took a sip of her smoothie. She'd likely already had a protein charged breakfast and taken pre-workout before running off with Urian and Pearl. Laxus would know. The two of them had similar diets because they had similar workout schedules.

Adamine finished her smoothie then pulled Isaac's shade off her arm. The shadow retracted, causing the darkness over her left eye to fade away like ink being sucked out of water. Once she was back to normal, Adamine snickered, "After the information I just received, DC, I know we're more than tied. We're equal, so you can go ahead and tuck that arrogance right back into your jeans pocket where you found it."

DC? Was she really using electrical current nicknames on him again?

Deciding to ignore Adam's comeback, Laxus just wondered, "What's the information, Stoner?"

"Oh, just a little bit of information Isaac forgot to include in his last letter."

Narrowing his eyes, Laxus carefully asked, "What information?"

"Just a little tidbit about how there won't be any teams partaking in the events. The Kings will have jurisdiction over who goes into what event on a few battles and rounds. Then, any member can partake by their master's suggestion or their desire to go."

Laxus's jaw slackened just the least bit, and he slowly started, "You're saying that we could go the whole games without me participating in anything."

A huge grin flashed across Adamine's face. Urian popped his head in at the same time, and the both of them chimed, "Bingo!"

Makarov's lips curled into a grin, and he stated, "Serves you right for trying to drown Adamine. Twice, I hear."

Rearing his head back like he'd just been slapped, Laxus suddenly remembered his grandfather was sitting on the bar between Adam and himself.

Everyone ignored the blonde dragon slayer when Urian explained, "Not only that, but Isaac also told us about our lodging. We'll be staying in the same quarters as Sabretooth."

The beer pressed to Makarov's lips was abruptly spit out. Urian snatched Adamine when all she did was try to protect her manga from death by booze. Keeping her out of the foamy spray, Urian wondered, "Is that a problem, Makarov?"

"N-No! I'm just worried about how much money we're going to be sued for when Natsu, Gajeel, Rogue, and Sting go at it." The man shifted his eyes to where Natsu had thrown his foot down on a table to pronounce something. Then, he looked to where Levy was explaining to Gajeel how to translate Lancet slang into Fiore speak. Instead of Makarov seeing children, he got flashes of an inn being destroyed. Each broken item came up as a dollar sign in his mind. "I should start preparing an expense fund."

Laughing, Adamine and Urian shared a glance. "Don't worry about it, Gramps. Isaac had Hollis insure the lodges. He expects damages. Also, food expenses will be taken care of by the kingdom as well. They have your travel, food, and insurance expenses covered. Hollis sent me the information today if you want to look at it," Adam explained. She reached behind her to pull a letter out with the Royal Guard placed as a seal. Instead of the bird inside of the seal being a raven, it was a phoenix to show that the letter was specifically from Hollis.

Each of the guard had their own personal symbol. Colin's symbol was a plain, round shield. Felix had a sword stabbing through the shield. Katja and Sven, who always sent their mail together, had a skull and crossbones.

Taking one look at the phoenix, Makarov shook his head. He remembered the last time he'd opened a letter from the Tattoo Summoner. His eyebrows had been singed off because the letter had come alive in flames.

"Suit yourself, so when are we heading to Hargeon?" Urian mentioned.

"The train arrives to take us in one hour. Wendy has already handed out Troia pills to the dragon slayers. Are all of you packed? We'll be gone for a week."

Adamine stated, "Isaac told me and Uri not to worry about it. He said he'd have some servants stock our bedrooms with clothing." Leaning over to smirk at Laxus, Adamine asked, "Are you packed and ready, DC?"

Growling at her, Laxus nodded towards his bag sitting at the Raijinshuu's table.

A smile broke across Makarov's skin, and he leaped to stand on top of the bar. "I'll make a few final announcements then. If you want to head to the station, we can meet you there."

Adamine leaned over to kiss Makarov on the side of his face in the traditional Lancet form of goodbye. Even Mirajane pulled up. The two pressed their lips together briefly while guys cooed something about how Lancet customs were hot. "Meet you all there!" she chimed out, snatching the ever quiet and thoughtful Black Pearl away from the Exceeds. Urian was hot behind her. He leaned backwards to kiss Mirajane then darted out the door.

* * *

Once the train had come and gone and the guild members that were able to travel across the sea were on board a ship run by a pirating Mer Mage named Captain Kenwae, Adamine stood up in the crow's nest. She'd been on this ship over a hundred times, and Adamine still couldn't get enough of it.

The glittering ocean. The pirate captain and crew. The rough-housing and the drunken revelry. All of it was fabulous, and as Adamine peered through a set of binoculars to see if the Lancet Navy or any slave ships were out, she admired the scenery.

The Gaillon Sea was a wonderful place. As the Lady of the Railway, Adamine had once had to map out the ocean for her pirate crews to sneak mage children from Lancet to the many countries that dotted the same peninsula that Fiore was attached to.

Her pink lips beamed towards the sky as she remembered the many times she used to sit deep within the hull of a ship. Her body would shiver. She would be drenched to the bone, and her heart would be in her throat. There had been so much fear those days, but now the fear was gone to be replaced by a world in which mages and Normans could live peacefully.

All Adamine had to do was prove to the Normans and mages that equality was possible. There were always the dramatics. Normans wanted to kill mages. Mages wanted to kill Normans. The radicals would always be there, but if Adamine could educate her people, the problems could be solved. Education was the key to equality.

Kicking her feet in the air, Adamine peered deeply through the binoculars. Although the current was pushing towards Fiore, Captain Friedrich Leif Kenwae could change the currents for his ship specifically. Thanks to being one of the god Poseidon's bastards, Kenwae was blessed with a vast amount of magic power. The demigod could sink his ship and provide an air bubble for people to breathe in as he slipped past naval ships. That was how he'd always snuck mage children to Fiore. Adamine would know. She was often on his ship.

Adam watched the gradual descent of the sun until a familiar Seven accent caught her ear. "Ello, poppet. Ye wouldn't mind if a crusty old pirate happened to spot ye a touch a rum, eh?"

A grin immediately split her lips, and Adamine whipped her head around to the captain of the ship climbing her way. Kenwae had a leather flask on a strap between his sharp teeth and another clipped to his hip. As soon as he joined Adamine in the nest, he gave her the flask on his hip.

They clinked their flasks, and Adamine stated, "You know me, Ken. I'll never turn down rum."

"Aye, that's my girl!" Kenwae cheered. He wrapped an arm around her to pull her head close. The lips that had been scarred from a sword slash pulled close to press against her caramel mane. "So, ye gonna take part in the games, I hear. Yer cousin won't stop yammering about it, and that group of heathens ye like to run with seem rather excited as well."

Adamine took a swig of rum before leaning against the wooden nest. "I'm doing that, but Isaac pulled me up here for something else. I'm assuming that's why your crew is heading to Lancet instead of to sea right now. I know you prefer the Midian Sea this time of year."

Her response was a solemn nod of his blonde head. "That I am, pet. I hear that the group that had captured Winry and Catori when you and Bickslow disappeared from Lancet are back. The Black Market's booming, and the man that had hurt Winry is still out looking for revenge."

Nodding, Adamine looked out to sea. The two of them appeared like old drinking buddies as the wind whipped his wavy, blonde hair around and repeated the motion to her spiky brunette head. While Adamine had barely escaped being captured when she'd disappeared from Lancet and Bickslow had been saved from the Navy during a raid in the town of Wolfrun, Winry and Catori had been taken in by Kenwae. Eventually, the pirate had to go back out to sea in order to bring money in to take care of the girls. During his leave, the house had been broken into. Norman slavers had kidnapped and enslaved the girls. They'd been sold to separate masters, and Winry's owner had wound up taking a liking to the young girl—a liking that had led to her rape.

Winry had met up with her old slavers not too long ago. She'd been on a mission to drop a young Lancet native off through the Magic Railroad and to a shelter in Crocus. Long story short, Win had met up with Laxus who was heading the same way, and they'd nearly lost both the boy and Winry to the slavers until Laxus beat the slavers within an inch from their lives. Ever since then, Winry had been nursing a slight crush on the dragon slayer. What kept them from sealing the deal and actually dating? Winry's fear of men. Her slave master had ruined men for her. She was scared and flinched at just the slightest touch of an adult male to her skin.

It was no wonder Kenwae wanted to come in to see his girls safe during this time of strife.

"You think you'll be able to catch them?" Adamine wondered, knowing the answer.

"Aye, I vow it. No one harms my loves and gets away with it. Iffin you or Isaac don't catch me, I may just take the rascal and sell him to a sect of slavers in the Pergrande Kingdom. That or keep the bastard on me ship. See how he likes us using him as a dog."

Adamine cast Kenwae a measured glance. Pursing her lips, she slowly stated, "I want to let you do it, Ken. I really do, but given my political standing, I can't give preference to one race over another. I sadly can't even get a revenge on a bastard who'd harmed someone I love. That is, unless you have evidence he murdered a mage. Then, we could deliver the death penalty."

"And, for the rape?" Kenwae growled, wanting the death penalty for a man's destruction of a young twelve year old's innocence.

Hands ran through her hair, and Adamine breathed a hard breath. "Kenwae, it was over twelve years ago. I'm not sure what I can pull given my authority over the judicial system. I can talk with Isaac, but I can't promise you—"

A finger pressed over Adam's lips, and Kenwae shut her up. He smiled and lines crinkled on either side of his mouth. They were laugh lines formed from days smiling in the sun, smiles made with every victory and successful pillaging. Lines well earned. Amazing that such a man could smile given the hell he had gone through, but that was the Lance way for mages.

"Take your beatings, dear. The Slayers of Lancet will soon come to rid you of the pain forever," they would promise their children, never knowing that the slayers of Lancet were a Dragon Slayer girl who wrote manga, an Angel Slayer king with a demonic entity sealed within him, and a God Slayer playboy turned loyal boyfriend.

Kenwae's eyes had that old saying in them when he stated, "I understand that you hold your title of Princess high, Adamine. But, when yer a pirate with government connections, ye can't help but try and milk the system a bit."

Offering a shy smile, Adamine admitted, "According to law, if no one from the executive branch sees you and if no one reports you, you could potentially get away with a kidnapping. Say, her master was in the woods and disappeared with no witnesses, we could do some P.I. work, but if you covered your tracks well enough, we would be forced to drop the case."

"Aye, there's my lassie!" Kenwae cheered. He pulled Adamine up close once more.

Adamine remembered this position with Kenwae so well. The smell of rum on his lips, his musky scent, and the broad shoulders that encompassed her. She felt like a child again, leaning on her favorite pirate for comfort.

Grinning up at his tall body, Adamine teased, "Hey, just because I honor my position doesn't mean that I'm any less a greedy, whiny princess as all the others." She was about to prop herself off him and join the guild in pulling rum bottles out for a little celebration when she caught sight of a ship on the horizon.

Binoculars pulled up on her face, and Adamine stated, "Kenwae, we aren't being followed. Are we?"

"Huh?" Ken reached for the binoculars hanging from a strap around Adam's throat. Pulling himself down to see through the lenses, he gave a looksee of his own. "Well, King Triton be damned," he breathed.

"What? What is it, Ken?"

Instead of answering, Kenwae stripped his shirt off. He pushed Adamine back, and as Adamine glanced down she noticed his hands had changed. A fine webbing appeared between each finger, and Adamine knew this transformation was a side effect of Kenwae's Mer Magic. Golden scales the same color as his sun bleached hair had covered his arms like flecks of gold dust before they grew in concentration down where his hips disappeared into his jeans.

"You're going into the water?"

"Mmm. Know that ship. Named the _Winter's Tale_."

Seeing the broadside of the ship adjusting, Adamine's eyes grew wide at the cannons on the side of the ship. It was truly a pirate ship, decked out with a front ram and armor.

"Are they an enemy?"

She didn't get an answer because Ken had already ran down one of the sails to dive off in the ocean. As soon as he did, one of his crew called, "Captain's in the water!"

* * *

"Hello, poppet," Kenwae stated as he threw a leg over the Winter's Tale.

"Kenwae," Erika greeted, her voice was the same sultry purr he'd always remembered it as. "And, to just what hellacious beast does my crew and I owe this sorry excuse for a ship's appearance in the Gaillon Sea. You know I own these waters this time of year." Raising a hand towards one of her men, she added, "Sinbard, put your sword down. This one's too stupid to be anything but a friend."

"Stupid, lassie? Now, that ain't the way ye greet a man who was yer former lover's best mate. Where's yer loyalty?" Kenwae shook water out of his hair like a wet dog then made a swaggered approach towards Erika. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he pulled her in. "So, poppet. Ye wouldn't happen to have a spot of rum from that little island called Enca. Would ye? Got quite the party on me ship, and we could use something ripe to toast to."

Erika withdrew said bottle of the specified brew. Right when she looked to be offering it up, she pulled it from Ken's grasp. The bottle was replaced with a blade, and Kenwae glanced to see the tip of a sword pressed against his throat. It lightly touched him, not even drawing blood. With a playful grin on her face, she taunted, "You'll have to fight me for it, Kenwae."

Calloused palms rose, and Kenwae didn't dare lose the grin on his face. Smiling, he stated, "Drawin' on an unarmed man. Now, lookie who rolled off the wrong side of the bed."

"Only an idiot would mistake you for unarmed, Ken!"

He tossed her a playful wink then gestured downwards. "You're right, love. That bulge in me pants is a mighty weapon." Flipping a hand to his pocket, he drew his blunderbuss.

The two pirate captains circled each other while Erika's crew seemed to pour from the woodwork. A few of them, Kenwae already knew the names of. Krage was her quartermaster, a tall viking male similar to those from High Lancet. Sinbard was her guard dog. Though Ken had never been close to the man, he certainly was now that the male had drawn on him—again.

Ken kept a careful eye on the robed male, but he also kept himself trained on Erika. Though she'd brought a sword to a gunfight, she wasn't one to scoff at. He could pull the trigger, but she could go incorporeal. Being a Seith Mage and all that stuff.

When he noted more swords than he had bullets strapped on him, Ken began to back up.

"Running away, are you?" Erika taunted, keeping her sword tip on his throat.

Kenwae snickered, "There appears to be too many people defending your liquor." He allowed his blunderbuss to slip and rotate on his pinky finger. When his leg hit the side of the ship, he flaunted a grin. "Tie up to me ship, and we can see just who gets the rum barrel tonight." Before she could say a word on his challenge, Kenwae backed up too far.

His body dropped backwards into the drink. Knowing his magic, Erika immediately closed her eyes when she saw Ken reach to the leather straps tying his pants on. Sadly, her crew did no such thing. When Ken disrobed to allow his legs to fuse into a merman's tail, Erika snickered at her crew's calls of distaste.

"Has he retreated?" Krage wondered, appearing by Erika's side.

Erika pulled the rum to her lips after popping the cork. She took a sharp swig, relishing the burn as it went down. "Oh, no, Krage. Ready the grappling hooks. We're about to go steal some liquor!"

Looking up from the water, Kenwae flashed a grin. He hadn't expected to see Phantom Erika, but there she was. Her red hair whipped in the wind with the same ferocity as the puffed up sleeves covering her arm. She was quiet the lass, and when he caught sight of her spinning a grappling hook to send it over to his shocked crew, he snagged a hold on a piece of wood that made a ladder on the side of his vessell.

His big body heaved a leg over. With water dripping down his face, and his pants newly tied back on, Kenwae hollered, "Ready the grappling hooks and draw in the sails! Pirates are coming for the rum!"

"Not the liquor!" Cana howled.

"But, we are pirates!" Adamine yelled from the crow's nest.

"I mean the crazy ones!"

"But, aren't we craz—"

"Silence, Mina!"

Kenwae snickered up at his concerned almost daughter as she came down from the crow's nest. He would have helped her out, but a member of his crew was charging towards him. "The _Winter's Tale_? Are you serious, Ken?"

"As serious as I am that if we don't win this battle, we'll lose all our rum."

"I'm all in!" Cana proclaimed. She leaped off a lawn chair someone had pulled out for her. The cooler she had with iced bottles of beer and a few fifths of rum was slammed closed when she slammed her foot down on the chest holding them.


	5. Booze and Battles

**Perhaps, I should apologize for not writing much on this story after posting it. Hired to Kill and my latest story not in this series have wound up being hits with the readers, and I've been focusing on the stories people like already instead of the untested lovelies. Hope y'all ain't too pissed off at me.**

**Thank you so much for your patience!**

* * *

Booze and Battles

As Adamine descended from the crow's nest, she entered… insanity. All hell had broke loose as grappling hooks were sent out. Some mages were tucked behind barrels or beams. They fired rifles before ducking back to hide from fire. Every time a bullet or cannon blast hit the ship, the entire vessel lit up with Kenwae's magical shield, a thin rippling of golden energy that faded once the shot had gone.

Adam tried to get down from the wooden ladder as soon as she could, but a wave of dizziness hit her. Her vision wavered, black dots covering it from something unknown. The hands that had been secured on a thick rope slipped. While dots played in her eyes, Adamine felt wind coming up all around her. She'd barely even gotten out from the crow's nest when she went falling backwards.

Breath gasped from her lips as she tried to call for help, but her entire body was overcome by an onslaught of nausea.

Wait… Nausea!

"Adamine!" a masculine voice called out. Shifting her gaze, Adam saw Bickslow running her way. Before she could crash land onto the wooden deck of the ship, his totems took a bullet for her, and he snagged her seconds from the ground.

His totems created a shield when a cannonball attempted to take them out, but Adam couldn't thank him for the quick save. Rolling over in his arms, she hastily made a mad scramble to the other side of the ship.

Slender hands clenched on the railing of the port side of the vessel, and Adamine lost it. Her entire body lurched as she retched over the side of Ken's ship.

Adamine didn't get it. She'd taken the Troia pill to keep herself from getting motion sickness, and none of the other slayers were feeling nauseous. Chancing a short glance to Laxus, she caught sight of her rival charged with electricity. Natsu and Gajeel were also faring better than Adam. Gajeel had his Iron Body activated. Natsu was hurling fireballs at enemy pirates. Even Wendy was defending with massive gusts of wind.

_What's wrong with me?_

A hand snagged Adam's shoulder, and Bickslow hauled Adamine out of the way of a blast of water. Thankfully, she'd stopped tossing up her intestines. When another blast trapped them before Bickslow's dolls could toss another shield, Adamine threw him behind her.

Arms made an X in front of her as Adamine took the blow in her Diamond Body. Fire ran off her faceted limbs. As soon as they were gone, Bix snatched her by the shoulder once more. He ducked the two of them at the stairs leading to the helm. "What's wrong with you?" he barked, sounding more accusative than concerned.

Shaking her head hard when another wave of nausea threatened to take her out, Adam popped another Troia pill in her mouth. She dry swallowed the pill before stating, "Not a clue. Wendy's pills stopped—" Adamine jerked her head away to retch over the port side once more. It looked like her body wasn't done trying to kill her yet.

A flash of lightning shot by them, and Laxus asked, "What's wrong—oh, that's not good."

"What? Do you know what's wrong with her?" Bickslow questioned. When a piece of wood that had been shot loose came flying like a spearhead, he launched green magic at it.

Laxus rendered a cannonball to dust from his blow. As soon as the strangely soft material encasing the powder within exploded, a gas shot free. He covered his mouth and nose before barking, "Natsu, burn the fumes!" The pink haired mage did as he was commanded, and just as Laxus expected, the gas was flammable. It went up in flames to rain down upon them. Natsu absorbed it all. Turning from the excitement and back to Adam, Laxus asked, "No. Did Wendy give her faulty pills?"

"Hell if I know! She almost passed out coming from the crow's nest," Bickslow snapped back. He grabbed Adam by the waist when an ungodly being erupted from the water. Tentacles wrapped around the pirate ship they were on. He slammed Adam's queasy and oddly limp body tight to him to keep her from being attacked by that freakish abomination.

The boat rocked hard, and Adamine's face turned green. She covered her mouth with her hand and groaned, "Damn you, Kenwae."

"Do you know what's going on?" Laxus asked, looking to Adam while he and Bix protected her from shrapnel.

"Pirate ship-urp-Kenwae knows 'em. He-ungh-met with them. Dunno why we're fighting. Likely friends," she explained. When another wave of dizziness accompanied her nausea, Adam fell backwards against Bickslow. "So… dizzy."

A massive blast of energy slammed into the quarter deck behind the main mast of the ship, and Laxus snatched both Bickslow and Adam. His body turned into electricity. He hauled the two of them to a safer spot on the ship before he tossed the two of them to the deck. At least, he thought he'd hauled them to a safer spot.

Three pairs of eyes grew wide when the kraken-like beast slammed a tentacle down right beside them. They each braced to defend and attack until the kraken lifted the enemy vessel. "Nahla," Adamine groaned towards the squid beast.

"That thing has a name!" Bickslow yelped when the tentacle near them came to wrap their bodies. He braced to attack alongside Laxus, but Adam weakly gripped each male by their sleeves.

"Don't. Nahla's on our side. Kenwae's pet squid." She was sweating and her breaths were coming shallow. Just what was going on with her?

The squid wrapped its massive tentacle closer around the three, and Adam laid her head against the smooth backside of its arm. "Go win the fight. Ken won't stop 'til he's won." When she received questioning looks, Adam added, "Don't worry. Nahla will protect me. Always has. I'll come out to play when I feel better."

As if to prove her point, the squid wrapped its arm around Adam specifically. It covered Adamine up, shielding her from the impact of more shrapnel. Instead of harming Adam, the shrapnel stabbed inside of Nahla's arm before being shot back out like a ricocheting bullet.

Bickslow and Laxus shared a confused look at each other before obeying. Both males leaped backwards from the shelter the squid had made around Adam's body. As they charged off to join the fray, Laxus commented, "Why does she always go for the weird ones?"

"Hey! I resent that statement!" Bickslow harped.

"Case and point," Laxus responded, flashing a grin at his visor wearing comrade.

"Babies, Baryon Formation!" he called out. The totems flung a massive blast of magical energy out and towards the enemy ship, but when they took a hit dead center of their own attack, Bickslow hollered, "Geiger Counter!"

The totems permitted the ray of magic to shoot through their pentagram formation before they encircled the blast. A ring of magic formed between them. When it launched out, the magic shot in a double helix like a band of DNA wrapping around white light.

"That's new," Evergreen replied as she flew in when a band of pirates crossed over to Ken's ship.

"When your trainer is a dragon on steroids, you learn quick," he mentioned, referencing the woman currently resting within a tentacle shelter. Damn. That sure sounded weird as hell. He never thought he'd be able to think about tentacles in a sensible way.

Evergreen slipped in front of Bickslow then raised her hands. Golden light blossomed there. "You aren't the only one who knows a few new tricks," she stated. "Fairy Explosion: Druid!"

The light grew larger, glittering like a lore bound disco ball. When it grew large enough, it filled out then disappeared completely. When it reappeared, it flashed directly above the heads of Ever's chosen enemies. Bringing her hands down, each circle of light slammed down like a spotlight. The shaft of light left people screaming as they were encompassed in beautiful destruction.

"Where is Adamine?" Evergreen asked. She kicked a guy flat in the stomach with her high heels.

Laxus winced as the man was sent flying back. Stiletto to the gut. Never the best of hits to be on the receiving end of. Ever knew how to put her fashion sense to good use. When the guy came his way, Laxus shot a bolt out at him to send to Freed. In the midst of their strategic movement, he explained, "Motion sickness or something. The squid's watching her." He threw his thumb backwards towards the creature as it loosed a battle screech.

"Last time Adamine was around a squid, she was nearly drowned by it," Freed reminded everyone.

Immediately, they all remembered the first time they'd met Mina. She'd gotten them into all kinds of hell, and Bickslow had to save her from becoming seafood when a kraken in a swampy cave had snagged her around the ankle. Oh, the ways he met women.

They weren't left with much time to think though. A blast of water slammed into Bickslow to throw him from the group. Evergreen got whapped upside the head with a freaking ladle before she was singled out from the pack. Laxus and Freed were split off from each other when a robed male and a grinning blonde broke between them.

"A Winter's Fairy Tale," the blonde cheered as he stretched his arms out wide like he was giving the world a bear hug.

Freed narrowed his eyes, looking to Laxus and his opponent. He tried to make a move and return to his master's side, but the blonde wasn't having it. In a movement like a wavering mirage, the blonde appeared directly in his path. His cheerful laughed explained, "Sorry, mate, but Sinbard wants to play with your boyfriend. Hope you don't mind."

"Don't tease the enemy, Clint! He could be more powerful than he looks." the girl who had attacked Evergreen scolded.

"Ah. Come on, Rune. I'm just screwing about here!" he snickered back with a wide green. Ivory teeth glistened in the sunlight.

With slight precaution Freed examined his opponent, the girl with the ladle had called him Clint. Given the snicker on his lips and the laidback attitude of his stature, he wasn't taking the woman's advice.

At first glance one could write the man off as weak given the stature amongst his larger crew members, but the muscles that bulged around his biceps told another story, as did the look in his eyes, startling blue that rang with challenge. Two swords were he held loosely in each hand. They appeared to be a matching pair, silver saber's that looked to be a tad thinner than the average version. Freed would know. He was quite the swordsman himself.

On an even more speculative glance, the man was around Adam in height, maybe a bit shorter and closer to Freed's own if he counted down the inches. Clint's sun tanned skin had its fair amount of scars. Freed could see the way they littered the enemy's body due to the top half of his shirt being unbuttoned and his rolled up sleeves. Freed could easily conclude that the man was a brawler. He would be a physically based enemy whereas Freed was a strategy based. Perhaps, the ladle baring mage was right. Clint should look out for Freed. He was standing between Freed and his leader—not the best place for anyone to be.

Clint's short sandy blond hair dusted lightly over his forehead, and Freed shifted his body. He was withdrawing his sword to guard on right, but Clint appeared at his left. A booted foot slammed home into Freed's side.

Breath escaped him as he was launched towards a barrel. Clamping hands down to keep from toppling it over, Freed tried to guard once more. As soon as his eyes settled on Clint, his mind wavered. As if a bout of amnesia had settled inside of his head, Freed turned from Clint's oncoming attack to narrow eyes on the shuffling of Laxus's feet. Before Freed had any chance to take note of movement, Clint came to whip the pommel of his sabre upon Freed's face.

The mage was playing with him! But… how?

Freed hardly got any time to figure that out. Clint appeared at his left. When their eyes met, once more Freed's mind tried to wander. He'd barely questioned _What kind of magic is he even using_ before Clint got one up on him again.

Not wanting to fall for the same trick three times in a row, Freed commanded, "Dark Ecriture: Reflect!" Making a slashing motion with his arm, Freed wound up sending Clint's attack back at him. The sabre hit his runes before having the pommel launch back at him.

"Ah. Lookie who's paying attention," Clint snickered as blood dripped from his forehead. "Good. I'd hate to have to own you in a couple of seconds flat."

Parting his lips, Freed made a motion to speak. As soon as his mouth was open, a mage was thrown flat into his body.

"What the hell!" one of the enemy crew screeched. "Erika, you can't be serious about these guys!"

A flash of auburn came across the deck, and swords clashed when the woman who must have been Erika pressed metal to Kenwae's rapier. "I'm always serious!" she laughed. Her body slipped underneath Kenwae's defense where she thrust towards his side.

"You're never serious!" Ken exclaimed as he danced out of the rapier's path and countered with a powerful jab.

"Is that so Mer?" his opponent challenged with a wicked smile, narrowly slipping past his blade.

"Yeah, it is, and you laugh like a sea dog!" he barked out wittily as their swords clashed between them.

"Well, how's this for serious then!" Snatching Freed's body up from the deck where he'd landed, Erika launched the bewildered mage straight at him. Kenwae's eyes got as big as saucers when he caught the green haired mage in his burly biceps, but that was a mistake.

With Ken's arms suddenly occupied, Erika managed to slip her leg underneath his. The mage tumbled to one knee as Freed tumbled from his hold. Snarling, Ken leaped up from the mage scrambling to his feet. He commanded, "Siren's Call!"

A blast of energy formed around his mouth before a screech was released from his mouth in a wave of power. The Mer Magic using mage released a scream so loud all the glass on the ship shattered. Eardrums burst, and those in his direct path screamed in agony. Blood rained from their ears.

Kenwae took his opportunity then. Slipping in close, he snatched Erika up by her wrist. In one hasty twist of her wrist, he disarmed her to lay her body flat against his. The victory didn't last.

"Phantom Body!" Erika called out. Her solid form became nothing more than a ghostly apparition as she escaped Kenwae's clutches and snagged her blade right back up. Right when she was bent over to grab her weapon, a blast of green energy singed the tips of her auburn head of hair.

"Missed me," a deep, masculine voice bellowed as a brunette haired male landed atop the railing of Ken's ship. The male was standing at the ready with his saber on guard and a blunderbuss clipped to his hip. He was a giant of a male with scruff growing from sideburns to center chin.

Bickslow stood up straight and wiped blood leaking from a cut on his face. The giant of a pirate had gotten him with that sword thrust earlier. His babies had hardly been able to defend him. "Lucky dodge," he snickered, revealing a bloody grin.

"Luck has nothing to do with it, mate. It takes skill!" the Viking sized pirate proclaimed. "Now, if we're done talking shit to each other, Hydra Blade!" Leaping straight towards Bickslow, Krage's saber changed from solid to liquid. Rushing currents whipped back and forth as quick as a chainsaw's blade, and he slashed towards Bickslow's torso.

"Babies! Defensive Formation!" Bickslow commanded, creating a hastily made shield. It worked but only for a split second. That liquified blade came hurdling towards Bickslow, and he had nowhere to go.

Gulping, Bickslow was positive he was about to take a saber to the gut until gemstones rained sideways across the ship. The gemstones slammed into the Viking's leather wrapped hand and sent the blade flying towards the sea.

"Jeez," the massive pirate muttered when Adamine's body launched clean from the safety of Nahla's grasp. She was in her partial dragon form. A diamond scaled tail flicked behind her, and two massive diamond wings shot from her back. The scales were feathered in appearance to give her the look of an avenging angel. With the pair of backwards curving horns jutting from her skull, Krage couldn't help but snap, "Ken's crew is full of half gods!"

"What else would I have on me ship, eh!" Kenwae cheered.

Adamine swooped in to roundhouse kick Krage off the side of the ship. Turning towards Bickslow, she explained, "That's for saving my ass earlier." He could hardly thank her before a rapier was getting thrust into his face.

From the surface of the sea, the Viking hooted with laughter. "I see the wild one has appeared!" Seawater surged up to catch him and propel him back aboard the ship. "You'd do well in Iceberg drage girl," he explained, using the Icebergian word for dragon.

"I am the Princess of the coldest kingdom in the world, and I am the daughter of the goddess of War and Stone. I think I could do well atop any floating popsicle of land," Adamine retorted, getting into position.

The Viking roared with hearty laughter. "You ever been in an Icebergian Prison?" he challenged. The way he held himself, and that flash of red fabric around his throat. Adamine recognized this man.

"That I have yet to do, but I get the distinct feeling you live with the same honor of the sword of my kingdom. Felix Eisenberg." The way the two men held themselves was familiar. Adamine could feel it in every move the man made. He had to be from the Clan of Eisen. That had to be the reason he felt so familiar to her.

"Arrh, that brat's made a name for himself!" Krage grinned. "I wonder if he can hold his liquor yet, or is he still operating under that gentleman's code he loves so much?" Well, that said it right there. They did know each other.

Adamine let out a loose laugh. "How am I surprised? I should have figured two men so similar in appearance knew each other. He still partakes in the Eisenberg Code. Still wears the red cape, too."

"By Odin that boy needed to learn how to swing a sword," Krage sighed as he ran a finger over his glistening saber. His eyes held a wicked gleam to them when he laid his eyes back upon Adamine. Grinning, he continued, "But enough civil chatter, come at me drage!"

"Adamantine Dr-" A flush of green ran across Adamine's face. She held up one finger while clamping her free hand over her mouth. Lunging to the side of the ship, she proceeded to spill her guts as Krage looked on in confusion.

The viking's jaw slacked. "Perhaps, you would not do so well in Iceberg if your stomach isn't with you?"

Spitting a vile taste from her mouth, Adamine shook her head hard. She steadied her gaze on the Viking then snarled, "I'm on faulty medication, alright! Gimme a break. Now then, Twin Blades of the Adamantine Dragon!"

Adamine's powerful legs thrust her forward. When she leaped into the air, she spun downwards like a top to drill one of the blades projecting from her forearm down onto the Viking's own blade.

Krage cursed in Icebergian as his sword shattered under the incredible power forced upon it, but his curse turned to a bark of laughter as he leaped aside and snatched Adam's outstretched arm.

Adam's eyes bulged as the straining muscles of the monster of a man lifted her stone body into the air and held her there like a weight. Claws sunk into the man's arm, and she twisted her body. Using herself like a pendulum, Adamine gave a solid thrust of her adamantine wings. She hefted the much larger and more powerful mage up and over her head. Fangs flashed in a wicked grin when his eyes widened in disbelief. His body crashed so hard against the main deck of the ship that Kenwae's shield activated.

The Viking sat up with a groan, shaking his head in a thick daze. "You're a right hard case, drage." Krage grinned as the fog cleared.

From across the deck he heard a snicker of laughter. Turning his eyes, the Viking locked onto none other than the mage Freed was still duking it out with.

"You having trouble getting her out of the air, sir?" the pirate named Clint laughed mockingly,

Krage tossed up an eyebrow. "No," he muttered thoughtfully. "I think I just figured out a way to solve the issue." With a simple command a blast of water leaped onto the ship and caught Clint in the back. The force of the blast sent him stumbling into the Viking's big, calloused hands. "Fancy a swim, Damont?" the Viking growled.

Clint yelped as he was thrown off the ship, but before he could reach the water, Krage flicked his wrist. A pillar of water exploded out of the sea. Speeding upwards, it caught Clint in its grip and continued with freight train speed towards Adam.

Emerald eyes grew wide. Flinging her arms up in the air, Adamine charged in the direction of Bickslow assisting Freed with his mage. "BICKSLOW, SAVE ME!" she screamed while running as fast as she could.

Raising his brows at the sudden sound of screaming, Bickslow shifted. His visor came up when he saw Adamine being chased by a jet of water. As soon as he caught Krage glancing in wide eyed confusion towards him, Bickslow commanded, "Figure Eyes!"

He snatched up the frightened slayer and changed the direction of Krage's attack to send the flailing and waterlogged Clint towards the woman Evergreen was holding out against. The ladle baring woman loosed a sharp squeal when Clint came crashing directly into her. The two landed in a crumpled and drenched heap on the deck with Runea sitting politely on Clint's chest.

The massive Viking blinked at the odd sight. Even Laxus and the robed man he was battling paused in their fight to watch the scene play out. It was like something straight out of a romantic comedy.

"Oh, my gods! Clint, are you okay?" Runea yelped, grabbing her fellow crew member's face.

"I'm fine, Ru," Clint managed, still hacking up water. "But, would you mind—" He coughed and spat out some more water

.  
"Yes?" she asked, waiting patiently for him to finish his sentence.

"You think you could maybe get of me?" he asked before cocking his eyebrow. "Or, are you comfortable where you are?"

A scarlet flush turned Runea's skin from cream to crimson in a matter of seconds. It swept from her chest to the top of her forehead. With a squeak she leaped to her feet and, before he could say another word, rammed her ladle down on his head with a heavy  
THWACK!

"Well, that was unexpected," Adamine snickered from her spot in Bickslow's arms.

"Mmm. Who? What? When? How did you get up here?" Bickslow squawked as if he hadn't noticed he'd been cradling Adamine bridal style against his chest.

Krage's big body loomed, sending a long shadow across the deck. "So much love going on, this could be an opera," he snickered and leaned against the saber he'd saved from the ocean's maw earlier.

"WE'RE NOT IN LOVE!" Runea and Clint howled.

"I'M TOTALLY IN LOVE!" Adamine proclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air.

"ADAMINE, STOP YELLING ABOUT OUR RELATIONSHIP!" Bickslow roared.

Even the robe wearing pirate rolled his eyes at the bickering pairs.

Krage rose an eyebrow as Clint snapped at the crew's cook again and had to duck under another ladle swing. "You two should really take a leaf out if the drage's man's book," he advised. "He may be in love, but a least he's man enough to admit it."

Adjusting his visor so no one could see the hot flush bubbling under the surface of Bickslow's skin, he placed Adamine back down on the floor. "Sheesh, Mina. Don't go yelling that shit out," he grumbled, making sure his mantle was properly in place to cover his beet red throat.

"But, it's true! I'm sexy, and you know it," she laughed with her mouth completely open.

"That's not the point here!"

"Aye, mates. What's with all the dialogue?" Kenwae questioned. While everyone else was bickering and joking, he and Erika were still duking it out. The redhead currently had him in a headlock. "We have rum at stake here!"

"Yeah!" Erika yelled, "What's with all the chatter?"

"Clint and Runea are getting married!" a girl yelled from somewhere before she vanished back into the crowds.

"Sela, you bitch!" Clint cursed before taking off after her.

"Trace?" Adamine breathed, pulling from Bickslow. She dashed off in the same direction until a wave of nausea dropped her to the deck. Gripping her stomach, she cried, "This isn't motion sickness!"

Laxus shoved his boot against the robed pirate's chest in a similar to fashion to what Adam had done to him a few days back. He growled, "Well, it sure as hell ain't Fiore either!"

"Or madness," Bickslow chimed in before launching Baryon Formation at Krage. The entire vibe of the battle was relaxed that most of the mages were toying with each other instead of actually trying to take out their opponents. Krage easily dodged Bickslow's attack to throw his saber in a horizontal slash that Bickslow shielded against.

One mage in particular ignored the entire battle and walked to the hunched over slayer. "Well, if it pains you too much Sin can check you over if you'd like?" Runea asked, approaching Adam. Runea's battle with Ever was completely forgotten.

Emerald eyes blinked a few times, and she adjusted to look at the ladle bearing mage. She had kind eyes and light brunette hair cut with fringe that danced across her cream colored skin. She didn't appear to be sarcastic. As a matter of fact… she looked more like an angel.

"He wouldn't mind? I mean, we are in a battle and all," Adamine asked, looking to the robed man. He was so covered up that all Adamine could see on him were a pair of eyes looking at her curiously. However, his gaze on her was quickly torn away as he defended against Laxus's powerful punch.

Smiling towards Adamine, Runea asked, "What do you say, Sinbard? Can you check her after you're done with him?" The mysterious man gave a sharp nod before an explosion went off from something tattooed on his arms. Laxus barely dodged before getting into his stance.

"That depends on if he makes it out of this still conscious!" Laxus challenged, withdrawing his fist with a confident smirk.

Sinbard eyed the slayer as he delivered a powerful kick at Laxus's head. The dragon slayer prepared to defend with a forearm, but mid movement a faint light lit up beneath the fabric around Sin's leg. Without warning his leg burst into a dark blue flame.

Laxus retreated, wincing as the strange flame caught his shoulder. To his amazement the flames burned cold. "What the hell?" he yelled as a thin casing of ice creeped over his shoulder. It covered the spot where the flame had touched him.

He barely had time to comprehend what was going on with the other man's magic before Sinbard was thrusting his blade against Laxus's chest. The enemy didn't stab. He didn't even slash. The flat side of the blade was flush against the spot between Laxus's pecs, and the tip of the blade pressed against the underside of Laxus's chin. "Explode," Sinbard commanded, his voice barely audible in the chaos around the mages.

Light emanated from the side of the blade pressing against Laxus's chest, and before the slayer could do anything to defend himself, a powerful explosion launched him from the quarterdeck of the ship.

"Laxus!" Evergreen cried out. She flung the mages around her out of the way the began summoning her wings. Before Laxus could meet the salty sea, she snatched him. She twisted her body around and snarled, "Let's finish this!"

Laxus gave no response. His head was lolled off to the side and blue birds should have been floating over the top of his head. How? What did that mage do that took Laxus out in one hit?

Gasping, Evergreen laid Laxus on the deck before running towards the mage that had taken out her master. She didn't get far.

Sinbard settled his golden gaze upon her, held up his hand, and released a ball of flame from a rune inscribed in his palm. She was slammed against the ship's railing the same as Laxus.

With an apologetic smile on her face, Runea explained, "Erika, Sin wants to help Adamine. Do you think we could speed this up a bit?"

"Don't ask that red headed wench," Kenwae jeered with a grin on his lips. He swept his legs under Erika, but she turned all ghostly again. He barely had the chance to throw her down before he was eating her elbow.

The man turned his body to the side then stabbed his rapier straight through her crossguard. The protective metal piece that would cover her hands from a downward sliding blade was stuck as the two captain's beamed at each other. "Do you surrender, Phantom Erika?" he asked when he dislodged the sword from her hands. It swung around on the tip of his rapier.

"Lucky hit, Kenwae," this Erika woman stated. "Fine then! I surrender."

"Good." Kenwae released his sword from hers then tripped her as she tried to stand. When she hit the deck flat on her ass, he pinned his sword tip centimeters from her throat. "Then, poppet, I will have to take you hostage."

"You always were a cruel bastard, Kenwae," the red headed captain snickered. Her smile was more of a bearing of teeth as the two of them stared each other down.

He laughed, "Oh, aye. And, now that ye are me hostages, I order ye to surrender the rum and party with us."

Adamine and the conscious members of the Raijinshuu could have dropped their jaws at the obvious flirting between the two captains. This was over rum! This whole battle, the whole attack. Rum? He'd nearly destroyed his ship and hers over some damned liquor. Was this guy the male version of Cana or something? What the hell?

* * *

**As always, if you find any errors or would like further clarity on certain points in the story, please, tell me. The only way I can get better is by responding to your criticism. Also, telling me what you like about the stories helps me get better as well.**

**Thank you so much. Review me if you think of something.**


	6. Conception

**Hmm. Maybe, I'll throw some of you for a loop during this. Heh. Heh. Heh.**

* * *

Conception

"Put her down there," Kenwae stated after he'd stationed his quartermaster at the helm. Outside, cheering could be heard from the overthrow of the _Winter's Tale_. The pirates and Fairy Tail guild were all carousing with gusto as a green faced Adamine was taken to the captain's cabin.

"Where is she?" two voices squawked in unison. Both Black Pearl and Urian lodged their bodies in the doorframe of the cabin while trying to get to Adam.

Adamine rolled her big eyes at the sight of them. They were elbowing each other to fight their way into the cabin. It wasn't going to work. Though Kenwae had quite the spacious interior for his living quarters, only about three to four people could even stand comfortably in the room.

Even as Bickslow slipped his arm out from behind her to let her sit on Ken's cot, she stated, "You didn't have to carry me. You know that?"

"Yes, he did!" a totem squealed.

"Don't be sick, Mina!" another chimed in.

With a deep frown and slight blush on his skin, Bickslow hastily yanked his souls inside of his head. The totems dropped in the air where he caught them. "You're greener than Laxus on a train. I'd haul him in here if he looked like you do right now," he mentioned.

Sighing at her new family's amount of concern for her, Adamine leaned her back against the curved wall of the cabin. All while she'd been fighting, she'd been holding back waves of nausea and dizziness. She'd held it back until she just couldn't do it anymore. Something felt like it was trying to flip her guts inside out, and despite Adamine's fear/hate of doctors, she guessed that she needed to see one.

"Mina, why didn't you tell me first?" Black Pearl hissed out. In a poof of black flame, she shifted from Mortality Soul to Heaven Soul. Her little bat wings folded in tight as she tackled Adamine. "You never get sick!" the hellhound proclaimed while checking Adam for fever.

Smiling, Adamine stated, "Aw. Come on. It's probably just some kind of flu or, maybe, Wendy didn't get to infuse all the pills Porlyusica gave her."

"I don't give a flaming fuck what it is!" Urian hollered out even as Kenwae was trying to push him with the others outside the cabin. "You'd better not be sick, Mina! I wanna go Smackdown City with you in the competition. I can't kick your ass if you're sick!"

"Get the hell out!" Kenwae barked after he ushered the rest of the curious group away from the cabin door. Before Urian could reach his arm back in to try to get inside, Kenwae slammed the doors shut on him. A sharp curse was heard from the other side when Urian's foot got shut in the door. As soon as all hands and feet were safely outside the cabin, Kenwae turned to the others in the room.

Bickslow was present. He sat on top of a desk while frowning in Adam's direction. Sinbard stood like some kind of silent sentry by the only exit door. Kenwae had turned himself into a human barricade by leaning against the door and propping his foot against it. Even Porlyusica was down here. Her face was that same grim mask of annoyance and concern, but the look she was giving Bickslow was anything but nice.

"This had better not be what I'm thinking it will be," she grumbled. Her eyes were locked on Bickslow before they slowly shifted to the confused slayer sitting green faced on the cot.

"What do you think it will be?" Adamine asked. Her head cocked to the side as it always did when she was confused about something.

"You aren't implying…" Black Pearl looked at Porlyusica. There was an interesting mix of horror/excitement/a strange nauseated look Adam didn't understand. Instead of answering the hellhound, Porlyusica just gave a solemn nod of her head. While the nod only got Adamine confused further, Black Pearl sunk against her torso like some weight had hit her.

"What? What do you think it is? I'll be okay. Right? Can I fight in the Games?" Adamine tried to stand up, but a firm hand on her shoulder kept her sitting down. She looked upwards to see Sinbard leveling his golden eyes on her. That gaze felt like it was penetrating straight through to her soul, and while she was used to that from her Seith Mage, anyone else sent shivers down her spine.

Porlyusica bent down to look Adamine dead straight in the eyes. Her face was a stoic mask that revealed no emotion. "Alright, Adamine. I'm going to ask you some medical questions, and I need you to answer me as best you can. Okay?" Porlyusica was talking to Adam in a slow voice, almost like she wanted the slayer to digest every word before she made the next sentence.

"Sure! I don't know much about medicine that isn't natural, but I can try to help you out," she responded. Her hands wrapped around Black Pearl's abdomen, and she rested her chin on the fluffy mohawk between the hound's ears. "Why do I have to answer questions anyway? You're the doc. Don't you already know what's wrong with me?"

"Just shut up, and let me ask the questions," Porlyusica barked.

Shrugging it off, Adamine kept her chin rested on Black Pearl's head. Porlyusica went through a whole myriad of personal questions that Adamine didn't understand. Adam didn't know what the word menstruation meant. Wasn't that some kind of pasta? Or, was that called minestrone. Either way, she'd had it last month, so she just assumed Porlyusica was talking about a soup with pasta in it. Maybe, menstruation was the plural form of minestrone. Ah. Yes, that would make sense. Adamine had eaten a lot of minestrone after she'd learned the recipe.

Either way, after Porlyusica went through her many questions about cycles and soup, she nodded towards the man who'd kept his hand on her bare shoulder since he'd put it there about a half hour ago. Various runes had been inscribed deep within his skin. Some were tattoos. Others were carved in with blades.

Adamine gaped up at him when he pressed his hand down on her bare shoulder with the palm that didn't have the fire rune on it. Light glowed from the hand pressed upon her, and Adam patiently waited for whatever result he was going to get from her. It wasn't until Sinbard's honey warm skin started paling that Adam began to get nervous.

She darted her big eyes over to Bickslow, but he was staring with the same confused, bewildered expression that Adam had. They were wholly oblivious to what was even going on around them at the moment.

Cocking her head to the side, Adamine studied Sinbard. He yanked his hand off of her like it was on fire then hastily dipped to Porlyusica's side. He leaned down just close enough and spoke with such a quiet voice that Adam had no clue what they were discussing. Her ears were still straining to hear what was going on between them that she jerked back in her seat when Porlyusica tossed eyes like twin daggers towards Adam.

That disappointed and slightly demonic glare flashed towards Adam before being thrown at Bickslow. She was so distracted by the strange reaction that Adamine didn't notice Sinbard awkwardly backtracking out the door. He muttered something to Captain Kenwae that got the man's jaw to unhinge.

Was she terminal? What was going on? What did these reactions have to do with Adamine answering questions about cycles and soup? She wasn't going blind like her dragon mother, Firmalione, was she?

She and Bickslow shared a nervous look towards each other until Porlyusica cleared her throat. "First of all, Adamine, I'm going to suggest that you make a few changes to your workout routine. Since you already eat healthier and better than any of the idiots in the guild, I'm not going to worry about your diet, but you will get cravings. You can give in, but remember, to take care of your body. Also, I suggest eating gemstones that aren't as… hard as the diamonds you typically consume. Next, though, I want you to make some alterations to your workout routine. I know you and Elfman typically get in weightlifting competitions with each other because he always gets sent to me when he pulls something out of place, but you can't do those anymore." When Adam's mouth opened to complain, the pink haired doctor shut her up with a glare. "I'm not saying for you to stop working out completely. I'm just telling you to take it a little easier. Also, those brawls you get into with Laxus. No more. Not until I tell you."

Bickslow's mohawk flipped around on either side of his head as a grin split his face. "Damn, Porlyusica. This is some serious shit. It's not like she pregnant," he laughed and settled his crimson eyes on the three females next to the cot. When all he got from them was a long pause, his skin paled. "She's… She's not right?" Another pause. "Right… Right!"

As Bickslow gripped either side of his skull, Porlyusica turned her attention back to Adamine. "What do you know about pregnancy, Adamine?"

"I'm only twenty-three years old! I don't know what to do with a baby!" Bickslow roared out. His face was so pale he made paper look tan.

A hand laid down on the mantle around Bickslow's shoulder, and Captain Kenwae flashed a pearly white grin. A set of fangs glittered in the setting sunlight when the captain stated, "While they talk girl stuff, how about the three of us take a little walk up the quarterdeck."

"Three?" Bickslow hissed out. His question was answered when the door to the captain's cabin got thrown open.

Ice had frozen along the hinges, and Urian Lancet entered. He was in full god slayer mode. Icicles froze in his hair and a few small pieces of ice formed teardrops at the corners of his eyes. His skin had turned so deep an ivory that blue veins could be seen in his throat and arms.

"Yeah, Bickslow, let's take a walk," Urian greeted, a sadistic smile creeping up his pale pink lips.

There was no escape. Even as Adamine questioned why Ken and Urian looked so sadistic, Bickslow's fingernails just couldn't sink deep enough into the doorway. His black painted fingertips sunk deep, causing ten rivets to get dug into the wood. It didn't stop the Mer Mage or the God Slayer.

Urian's ice tipped fingers locked around the back of Bickslow's throat, and Ken's fingernails had turned into ivory talons. He wrapped one burly arm around Bickslow's shoulders to escort the man out of the room.

Holding up a 2,000 jewel note, Laxus bet, "2,000 jewel saying they castrate him."

"Oh, please. They'll likely just hang him from the crow's nest or something. Adam loves him too much. They wouldn't want to hurt her by hurting him," Evergreen commented as she looked at the men hauling off their Seith Mage.

"Somebody, help me!" Bix mouthed, looking to the Raijinshuu and Thunder God for help. He found no sympathy. Evergreen gave a slow shake of her head, and Laxus tried to hold back a sadistic smile. Freed? Well, he looked too stunned by the news to make much of a response.

A furry paw tipped in claws waved from Adamine's lap. "Not on your life," the hellhound mouthed back.

Shaking her head at the shapeshifting canine, Evergreen entered the captain's cabin. "If anyone comes in here without my permission, I'll blow your head off with a new move I've been wanting to try out." No complaints sounded, and Evergreen happily closed the door shut behind her.

When the room stilled back to its quiet, somber state, Adamine turned towards the pink headed healer. "Porlyusica, what does the word 'castrate' mean, and why are Urian and Kenwae offering to take Bix on a stroll across the quarterdeck?"

"You'll have to ask your friend, Laxus, that. I don't feel like getting involved in any Dreyar based nonsense," Porlyusica intoned. "And, you. Why did you come in here? I was just starting to be able to breath now that the stench of humans wasn't so thick in the room." Her pink brows tightened on her forehead, and lines that must have been made by frowning so much merely deepened.

Evergreen wanted to say something, but Adamine broke in before another cat fight could begin between Porlyusica and Evergreen. "Then, what does the word 'pregnancy' mean? I've eaten pastrami, but I don't know about that food. And, what does thinly sliced meat and pasta have to do with my medical condition?" Adamine turned to the other women around her, but they were too busy staring at her like an alien.

The cot sunk down, and Ever took Adam's head in both of her hands. "Adamine, pregnancy isn't food. It's a medical condition, and we aren't asking you about pasta or thinly sliced meats. We're asking you about how a baby got inside of your uterus!" Her head whipped around to Porlyusica. "Didn't you ask her about her cycle?"

"I did, but she said she had a regular schedule. Now, I'm starting to believe she thought I was talking about pasta," Porlyusica groaned. There was a sharp howl from outside the cabin's door, but the woman just ignored it. "Adamine, how much did your mother explain about the mating habits of humans before she left you?"

Adamine's head tilted off to the side, and she stroked Black Pearl's fluffy mohawk. After a moment's consideration, she explained, "Nothing. When I brought things up, she just brushed it off and told me I was too young to worry about stuff like that. It wasn't until Bix and I moved in together that I realized I had no idea what mating was about."

"So your sexual tutor was Bickslow," Evergreen sighed. "Well, that explains why he never wrapped it up." She let go of Adamine's face to run a hand through her hair. "Did you even realize what you were doing would make a baby?"

Pressing one hand to her bottom lip, Adamine shrugged. "Not so much. But, Bickslow was wrapped up. We had blankets. How does what we were doing make a soul?"

Evergreen's hand pressed flat to her face. "Porlyusica, I can handle this if you want to go." That was all Porlyusica needed to hear. The pink headed female shook her head with every step she took out the door. Adamine could just barely hear her whispering about the need for sex ed for dragon slayers until the door closed behind her.

When the door shut, Evergreen took a second to walk around the room. She rubbed her temples as if she had a headache. Then, after a moment, the Fairy Mage sat herself back down on the cot beside Adam.

She barely was able to collect herself before a still confused Adamine explained, "I've carved babies for Bickslow before. I don't see how what we're doing makes a baby. Why would I have to change my diet if I just carved another baby for him?"

"You think that… Adamine, this isn't about you carving totems for Bickslow to put his souls inside of! This is about the two of you having sex." When Adamine did that whole head tilt thing, Evergreen let out an exasperated sigh. "I can't believe you're going to make me say this. It's when the two of you _mate_!"

"Oh!" Adamine gasped, suddenly understanding what was going on. "The two of you were talking about when he and I—" Before she could announce it to all the world, Black Pearl tossed her paw against Adam's lips.

After being silent for so long, Black Pearl stated, "Yes, Mina. We're talking about your mating habits. I thought I warned you about this."

Without saying a word, Adamine merely shrugged her shoulders. "So, if we're not talking about a baby like Bickslow's babies. Then, what kind are we talking about?" When groans sounded simultaneously around her, she blinked at her onlookers. "You don't mean like…"

"Like what?" Ever groaned out, amazed at how little Adamine knew about sex and what it produced.

"Like, there's a small… version of…" She took a deep breath. "You don't mean there's a little version of us growing inside of me like what happens after deer mate. Do you?"

"Ding! Ding! Ding! And, the prize goes to the Slowest Girl in the World! I love you, Mina, but you are too much like the rocks you eat," Black Pearl announced from Adam's lap. She twisted around from Adam's stark white face to look at where Evergreen was rolling her eyes at Mina.

Similar to what Bickslow had been doing, Adamine jerked up from her spot on the cot. Her hands gripped either side of her head as she proclaimed, "I'm only twenty something years old! I don't know what to do with spawns!" Black Pearl's furry body made a black heap on the floor as she blinked towards her frightened master.

Her hand laid flat on one of the curved walls as she hung her head. "Sweet Firmalione, my mother never prepared me for this! Okay. Food. Check. Shelter. Check. Water. Check. Uh. Clothes! I gotta figure out how to make clothes, and-and-and… Babies can't defend themselves, so I've gotta get stronger. Wolves like to eat babies." Her hands braced on either side of the wooden walls, and she stared. Her abrupt silence was like noise in itself, and both Ever and Pearl waited for her to make a sound. "What if Bix doesn't like it…"

"Oh, Mina," Evergreen cried. She leaped from the cot to wrap her arms around her best girl friend. Her arms were warm as they slipped around Adam's torso and reached up to cup the back of her head. Even Black Pearl joined on the comfort group hug by holding the slayer's skinny jean sheathed leg. "You can't be serious. Can you? Bickslow may be an ass half the time, but he's not that much of an ass."

"But… some males eat their young when they don't want them," Adamine explained with her head bowed and arms still braced against the wall.

Tearing herself away from Adam without letting go, Ever screeched, "You think he's actually going to eat your kid!"

"No," Adamine sighed. She let her arms relax against the wall then flipped wholly down onto the couch. "I may not be very educated, Evergreen, but I know humans don't often have cannibalistic tendencies. I just worry about how he feels about this… I didn't even realize that… You know. Fairy Tail hasn't been back together for very long since the Tartaros stuff, and the big rebellions in Lancet. I… we…"

"Just got caught up in the moment," Evergreen filled in for her. Her pale fingertips ran through Adam's caramel hair. "It's all good. I understand. Even though I think you two are completely stupid for not using any kind of contraceptive, I get what you mean."

Adamine slipped from Ever's hold to sink herself back down on the cot. Her mind was awhirl with questions, and she really wished her mother was here right now. Even though Firmalione hadn't been her birth mother, a little mother-daughter discussion would be wonderful right about now. Adam really wished Firmalione hadn't disappeared on her right after she'd turned human again.

Hands slipped up to hold either side of Adamine's face as she tried to process that there was a miniature version of herself growing within her body, but she was too focused on one little fact. "He did do this one weird thing that I always asked about before we ever got intimate with one another," Adamine admitted. When Ever waited for her to continue, Adamine added, "He had this little square packet that kind of looks like the flavoring for ramen noodles, but when he opened it, there was this round, latex object in it. He put that on before we did anything."

"Did he always do that? Can you remember a time when he didn't."

"Well," Adamine admitted, biting her lip as a certain memory ran up her head. "There was this one time. It was when I first met Bickslow after the whole Tartaros mess."

"I hate to ask, but can you tell me about it? I mean, it'll at least help us place when and where you conceived. That will help us figure out how many months along you are," Evergreen stated as if she was too repulsed to really even ask.

With a grin splitting her face, Adamine began, "Well…"

* * *

A tired sigh slipped through crimson lips as Adamine Terra made her way into her cousin's bar. With shoulders slumped and her hair even more spiky than its typical chaotic state, she looked positively defeated. Even so, Adamine didn't let it deter her.

She dropped her backpack on the floor then went to the locker rooms in the back. The sounds of the grill crackled in her ears, and the voices of bar patrons eagerly chattered. All of it went in one ear and out the other as Adamine withdrew her uniform for the Cherry Stem.

As soon as she slipped the knee length, flowy shift on her body, Adamine fell forward. The shadows under her eyes seemed to deepen with each day, and the life of her sun kissed skin was sucked out every second she spent on her fruitless search for whatever had happened to Laxus and the rest of Fairy Tail.

She couldn't remember the last time she slept, and the only reason she was awake right now was because she only had Urian's bar as a way to get paid. It took money to travel. Money was something that Adamine was short on a lot these days.

Even though she was the princess of a foreign country, Adamine didn't like to enter the coffers of her kingdom's finances for personal use. She would rather earn her money than have it handed to her because of a status. Thus, the bar.

Adamine laid her forehead flat against the slatted wood that made up the lockers, but even with her eyes at half mast, she couldn't fall asleep. Her mind was abuzz with questions.

Almost a year ago Adamine had left her guild and her comrades to go with Urian back to her kingdom. So many things were going on that King Isaac needed help with. The civil right's protests were gaining momentum, and people were beginning to come around. But, they still weren't doing it fast enough. Centuries of being a chauvinistic, normal human ruled kingdom had gotten people stuck in a certain way of thinking and behaving. With mages and women fighting to have equal rights, too much political stress was weighing on the foundation of King Isaac's rule. It probably didn't help much that he was a mage himself with a group of mages helping him rule. Isaac even appointed a woman to the role of kingdom assassin. It was safe to say that the old ones were not happy.

When the situation had cleaned up just enough for Adamine to return with Urian to Fiore, she'd been eager to take a mission with the Raijinshuu and Laxus. Black Pearl, her Hellhound companion, wanted to train with Panther Lily. Urian even had a date planned for the Demon Take Over Mage of his dreams. They'd had grand plans until they'd seen the guild in ruins.

Ever since, Urian and Adamine had been trading days to get information on the whereabouts of the guild members. Were they dead? Had they disbanded? What had happened? No one had contacted them, and it was driving both Adam and Uri crazy. Even Black Pearl who only cared about Adam's wellbeing was researching at every opportunity.

Feeling like death incarnate, Adamine briefly considered taking a nap inside one of the floor to ceiling lockers until Black Pearl left her spot at the grill. Crimson eyes, ridged ram horns, and a spade tipped tail weren't typical signs of comfort, but as soon as the frightening Mortality Soul form of Black Pearl entered the locker rooms, Adamine melted to the floor.

Her cherry patterned white and crimson dress flowed around her, and bare knees hit the hardwood floors. Before she could hit her head on one of the benches, Black Pearl caught her master.

Claw tipped hands went directly to Adamine's forehead, and the furry beast scolded, "You didn't sleep after getting off the train. Did you?"

"No!" Adamine groaned. She was nothing more than a pool of wiggling jello when she rested dead weight on Black Pearl's furry shoulder.

"Damn it, Mina. Without Wendy to give you Troia infused medication, you know you have to stay off moving vehicles." Black Pearl's claws went up to Adamine's caramel colored mane. Even though she smoothed the spikes and waves that were Adam's head of hair, the hound's voice was filled with motherly threats. "This is wearing on your soul, Adamine."

Not even a scowl could form on Adam's lips when Black Pearl looked through Adamine's fleshy cage and to the fragile soul held deep within. It was bad enough when Bickslow did that to her, even worse when Pearl did it without permission or warning.

Just the simple reminder of her partner in crime had moisture welling across Adamine's eyelids. Bickslow was her partner, her roommate, and what Urian called her boyfriend. Even though Adam didn't understand the difference between a boy friend and a boyfriend, she did know that it meant she and the Seith Mage were on a level more intimate than battle comrade.

And, damn it, Adamine missed that intimacy. She missed waking up to him drooling on the bed beside her. She missed the way his souls talked through him as he slept. Adamine missed the familiar pressure of his hips against her backside when he rolled over to cuddle her in sleep. What she missed the most was their midnight conversations.

The two of them would be so tired neither one of them could sleep. They would talk about ridiculous things such as the possibility of aliens on the moon, sasquatch running for president, and if the color red looked the same in his eyes as it did in hers.

Adamine missed _him_.

When the two of them had accidentally performed a spell that locked their souls together, Adamine had felt so connected to him, one with him. The only time Adamine had ever felt such companionship was when she lived with her mother, and now that they were so far apart the link couldn't even locate him, Adamine felt plain abandoned.

No calls. No letters. Not even a hidden message. They'd left her high and dry.

Before tears could roll down her face, Adamine blinked them away. "I gotta put on my work makeup," she grumbled.

"Take the day off, Mina. Please," Black Pearl urged, but Adamine just pushed the Hellhound away.

Adamine got some leverage on her opened locker then forced her weak legs to stand. "Can't do it, Pearl. Travel costs money, and this is where I make it."

Head shaking was reflected in the mirror Adamine was doing her make up in. Black Pearl put her claw tipped hand on Adam's shoulder. "Then, at least, let me see what I can do to your soul. Alright?"

A short nod was Adamine's consent. Furry arms wrapped around Adamine's torso, and Black Pearl laid her head on the back of Adamine's head. From just looking in the mirror, Adamine knew what Black Pearl was doing. Even though she didn't use a command to get the magic to activate, Black Pearl was sending little bits of her Heaven Soul inside of Adamine. The pure, white light ran through her body to fix any damage done. Even as she was being healed by Pearl, the female transformed version of Urian literal God Father entered the room.

While in his female counterpart transformation, or while Skin Walking, Loki wore the same dress and red pumps that all the serving girls wore. Just one look at Adamine and Pearl hugging, and the crossdressing god hooted, "Aye, hot interspecies action, and I didn't even have to subscribe to this channel!"

Grabbing the only hairbrush Adamine owned, Black Pearl chunked it at Loki. "Shove it up your skirt, Loki." She gave Adamine one last pat on the head before dipping out of the room and back into the kitchen. Her spade tail whipped against Loki's stomach like a switch before she left completely.

"That is no way to talk to a lady!" the god snickered, shaking his fist in mock anger. Turning around with his hand on his hip, Loki strutted towards Adamine. "You look positively beat, hon, and I'm sorry to ask but can you take this latest order? The guy who ordered it was a total arse, and I don't have the patience not to freeze his balls to the outdoor seating."

"Of course, Loki," Adamine sighed, not really feeling like Loki's antics. The Trickster god was fun, as long as he and his cohort were on the same kind of emotion. Any other time, he turned you into his next victim. It was Loki's way or the highway. Taking the order from him, Adamine checked the number on the ticket. It was table Four O. The O meaning outside. "So, why can't you really handle him?" Adamine asked, still slightly wondering why the god chose to work here when he could go back to Asgard since his godhood had been redeemed.

Scowling, Loki looked out the door before grumbling, "Urian. I raised that brat, but he thinks he can order me around whenever we're in the bar. 'Loki, get your feet off the table.' 'Loki, quit flashing the guests.' And, his newest, 'Loki, if you're going to shapeshift into a woman, then at least wear the damned uniform.' I swear, the kid is a total brat. I would send him to see his sister Hel, but I fear the two snot nosed kids would conspire against me."

A grin played at the corners of her lips, and Adamine placed a brief kiss on Loki's feminine lips. "I'll handle Urian, _Lacey_. Is the rude guy's order done yet?" she asked, using Loki's lame play on sounds to make his female counterpart.

"Yes, it is," Loki explained. He pulled a string at the back of the dress then let it fall from his feminine form. With a flick of his wrist, he transformed back into the tall, lanky trickster god most people knew so well. "The stupid human ordered steak with a side of steak, and our tallest Iona beer. Read the ticket. It has all the info on it. Besides, the Big One should have cooked it while you and Pearl were having that _moment_."

Shaking her head, Adamine finished the final ties on her dress. "You know, he has a name. It's Elfman."

"Yes, I know the Big One has a name, but I don't like him like I do you and Urian. His female human is nice, but she is frightened by cockroaches and has too many blonde moments for someone not of that hair color."

"And, Lisanna?"

"Oh, I like that human! She can shapeshift into animals. I'm still teaching her the ways of Skin Walking, but she has a habit of giving herself leopard spots or zebra stripes."

"Well, we have to learn some way. Right?"

"Indeed," Loki explained. He waltzed side by side with Adamine out of the locker rooms, but while Adamine was in uniform, Loki was butt naked. His pale skin might as well have shimmered as he went with Adamine towards the kitchen.

"Loki, put some damned clothes on!" Urian harped from all the way at the bar.

"You can't even see me!" the god shrieked, turning to Adamine with a large smile on his face. "See what I mean. I can't get a single break."

"I know you, Loki. You're standing with Adamine and whispering about how you can never get a break," Urian growled. His footsteps sounded against the hardwood floors like he was walking towards them.

Snapping his fingers, Loki donned clothes fit for a god. "The boy will never understand that I'm his god. His balls have dropped, and he thinks that makes him a man. Tch. Oh, well. See ya, Adamine. There are schemes to be made and profit to be earned—or better yet, stolen!" His lips left a lingering hint of cold on Adamine's skin before the god flashed away in a flurry of snowflakes.

Adamine shook her head before picking up the order meant to go to whatever customer had pissed off Loki. She did her usual routine while walking through the bar. Adamine flaunted a smile as she said her 'hellos' to Elfman, Lisanna, and Mirajane. The siblings were busily working and tossed up either a hand or a smile to tell their acknowledgement. Upon strolling by Urian, Adamine flashed her cousin a wink. He merely scowled.

For some reason Urian always assumed that Loki liked Adamine more than him because the two schemed together all the time. Adamine knew the truth though. While she and the god did scheme, she was the one Loki explained his deepest secrets to. As a deadbeat dad, it was hard for Loki to admit that he loved his children. For some reason, he talked to Adamine about that instead of his own son. Something about her being a third party was the supposed reason.

No matter, it wasn't the point right now. Adamine walked through the patrons of the Cherry Stem before hitting the sunlight outside. Had she not felt like she had a hangover from the train ride earlier, she would have liked the sun. Since she had gotten off the train, she merely gritted her teeth and bared a smile upon her face.

It wasn't until she got to the vague shape that was table for and its single patron that Adamine's eyes adjusted. The sunlight stopped stabbing her pupils with its demonic UV rays, and her green eyes opened up to the sight of—

She dropped her tray.

"Bickslow?"

"Adamine?"

"Bickslow!" Adamine screeched in glee before charging towards him with a smile on her face.

"Adamine!" Bickslow leaped up from the table he'd been sitting at. His chair fell behind him, and he took a step towards her until his brows flew up.

"Bickslow!" Adamine yapped. She tackled him like a linebacker. His body went flying underneath her as she straddled his waist. Two hands grew claws, and she sunk them deep within the oddly formal vest and button up he wore. Shaking his body back and forth, Adamine screamed, "Nearly a whole year, and I hear nothing from you, you ass! No letter, no visit, and no damned call!"

In between being shaken, Bickslow tried to defend himself. "I couldn't—do any of—that! You were—gone, and I—didn't know where you—came back to! Woman, quit shaking me!" His hands grabbed onto her shoulders.

Obeying not because he said so but because she felt like it, Adamine stopped shaking him. Her arms wrapped tight around his neck, and she slammed her face to his. Their lips met with crushing force as Adamine took him for a hard, rough kiss. She gripped the back of his head with one hand while slipping her other underneath his open vest.

Bickslow responded in kind. Even with his body pinioned beneath hers, he let the arms stiffened on her shoulders loosen. The hands that had been trying to hold them apart drew them closer. He held the small of her back while cradling her face with his free hand.

Their lips melded together as if they hadn't even been apart for months. His tongue dipped between her lips, and she let her teeth run lightly across it before adding her own tongue to the mix. Breaths came hot and heavy between them as the link that fused them buzzed.

Thanks to that accidental union, every touch Adamine placed upon his skin was reflected back to her. Their souls were connected in the same intimacy as their bodies. When she pressed her lips against his, she felt it in kind. When Bickslow's hand slipped lower to cup her ass, he felt it upon his own flesh.

"Ah, Bickslow, I missed you," she groaned against his lips.

"How much?" he taunted, nipping her bottom lip with his pearly white teeth.

"Too damned much," she admitted. Adamine pulled from his mouth to kiss from the corners of his lips. She place butterfly light touches to his skin from his pink lips to his throat. Adamine was making a line from throat to collarbone as he languished beneath her.

The sound of a throat clearing caught Bickslow's ears before Adamine's, and his red eyes popped open to the sight of Urian tapping his foot against the patio floor. "If I can't get laid at work, then neither can you, Adamine," Urian scolded.


	7. An Excerpt from Adamine

**Tadaa! The dirty little secret that's been keeping me away from y'all is revealed at last!**

**If you've never commented before, I would appreciate the comments now. This baby is hopefully going on shelves some day. Just needs more spit shine and polish.**

* * *

One

The dirty urchin bit down on her bottom lip as she walked into this strange place. With her hand pressed against her skin, she looked around with the brightest things on her body—her emerald eyes. This place was so different from what she was used to. The creatures here were so different from those in her wooded homeland.

Here, there appeared to be only a set number to the species of beings. Adamine could see rats running in the busy market. There were birds flying overhead. Her feet stepped over a trail of ants carrying food to their queen, and humans outnumbered the critters by at least one hundred to one.

Unlike in the wild where Adamine could hear birds chirping, bees buzzing, and deer stomping, here there was nothing but the pounding of feet on the dirt road and the hawking of merchants from their stalls. Adamine could only hear the giggling of children and the scoffing of adults. She even saw a few obviously inebriated men hanging on each other as they tottered through the streets.

Making her way deeper into the masses, she couldn't help but stare at what her mother, Firmalione, would call adults. They were like children or teenagers, like Adamine but bigger. It'd been years since she had been amongst so many other humans, and she couldn't help but stick close to walls and shadows for fear of the hairless and scale-less beings. Adults were odd creatures, and this was the first time that Adamine had seen them up close.

These adult humans weren't much taller than Adamine's high reaching body. With her long, tan legs Adamine stood at the same height of several males. She appeared to be taller than most females, but she had the same curves as they did. Still, for all these similarities Adamine didn't feel as if she was much like these adults.

They didn't have a shining light in their eyes to prove they were alive. They didn't run and play like the short creatures called children did. They walked with business in their eyes, and they kept their shoulders back as if they were on guard from some predator. When they looked at her, they looked at her with disdain in their eyes—like she was some inferior insect. They barely cast her much of a glance after seeing her dirty clothes, messy hair, and bare feet.

Biting on the inside of her lip, Adamine pressed her hand against one of the things that Firmalione had explained to her as being buildings. They were similar to trees with the way they were built up so high but different because they had a tile canopy at their top. Also, they were different from trees with the thickness of their walls and the many square holes cut inside of them. She eagerly smoothed her hands across the interesting material that made the building. It was rough to the touch but looked smooth to the eye.

Adamine pressed her hand harder against it, feeling the warmth radiate from the building and into her palm. So wonderful. It was much like the rocks that her mother and Adamine used to bask on. It absorbed the sunlight then gave it to her when she touched it. Happily, Adamine stroked the building as she walked through the streets.

Her body was forced between the walls of the structures and the bodies of people around her. Every time that a human got close to her, she bit down on her pouty and pink bottom lip. They all looked so serious in the place Firmalione would have called a town.

Their eyes were straight forward. They looked directly ahead. They didn't take in the many sights and smells that were to be had in this place, but Adamine wasn't like them. She took in the sights. She saw the thick masses of people and the children that ran through the legs of the tall adults. She saw the massive place where everyone seemed set on going.

Adamine took in the smells. She could smell meat roasting. She smelt human perfume and human sweat. But it was the roasting meat that had Adamine coming in all the way from the sanctuary of the forest.

Deer had been sparse this year, and the fish weren't swimming in her river. The berries that were normally around the cave she lived in were fewer. Squirrels weren't half as interested in coming out and falling into her traps. Also, Firmalione had left her.

Without her mother to go the long distance and get food for Adamine, she had to do something. Searching through the forest, Adamine had sniffed out meat. It smelt like when Firmalione had showed her how to make fire.

Thinking that her mother was near, Adamine had run headlong to the scent. Only now she found herself suddenly lost in this jungle of human bodies and rectangular constructs.

Now, the only thing that was keeping her feet moving was the scent of meat up ahead. She followed it with a pang in her stomach and saliva filling her mouth.

As she followed the scents, she took note of the humans around her. She noticed similarities between herself and other women. They had curves where she had curves, but despite the similarities, she appeared harder than these creatures, wilder.

Where Adamine had once been flat chested, she now had a round, full chest. Where her hips and waist used to have barely any difference, Adamine now had an hourglass figure. While those were common silhouettes of the females, her body was quite different.

In the shredded clothing she wore, her athletically toned legs were revealed, and through the hole in the abdomen of her tunic, people could see six bands of thickened muscle bulging against her stomach.

Yes, she was older, and according to her mother, these changes were her becoming a woman. But even though her body had changed, Adamine didn't feel any different.

Blinking, Adamine looked at other girls she would assume to be around her age. There were very clean girls. They looked down at people from their slim, uplifted noses. But there were also dirty, barefooted girls like Adamine. They laughed and ran with older and younger boys and girls. From the looks of things, it was the dirty girls that had more fun.

When one brushed by her, Adamine nervously flinched out of the way. The child looked at her, grinned, and kept on running. Instant heat filled her face at that smile, and Adamine hastily touched her warmed skin. A human had… smiled at her. Why did that make her so happy?

Chewing on her lip in almost embarrassment, she kept on going. Her hands roamed down vine covered walls as she strolled. There was meat here, and Adamine needed protein. It'd been so long since she'd been able to catch a fish or kill a deer that her stomach ached from hunger. She'd hunted and hunted to no avail until braving the humans had seemed like a good idea.

In this town, Adamine hadn't brought her spear to catch anything. Long ago, Firmalione had told her that humans feared weapons. It was best not to go into human civilization armed with her diamond blade or her diamond tipped staff. Also, Firmalione had said that Adamine's diamonds would be taken from her if the humans saw them. Thus, Adamine had no weapons on her aside from her speed and her cunning.

Stealthily, Adamine continued on her quest. She took tender steps when a merchant woman walked by with a plate of sizzling meat. Eagerly, Adamine watched the woman's wide hips roll with every step, and she stared onwards at the skirts that shifted side to side with the merchant's gait. Tongue dabbing at her bottom lip, Adamine followed.

Her nose took in the scents, and she could name off what was on the meats. She smelt pepper and cooked onions. The meat was fresh from the fire pit, and she knew that it was pork from the many hogs snorting in wooden pens. Adamine had never eaten a pig before, but right now her stomach was eager enough to find out what they were like.

She was practically licking her chops when the wide hipped merchant placed the meats down in her market stall. They were in an open air market. Merchants hawked their wares. Teachers walked and talked with their students as the educators went about their daily lives. A story teller was on a stump in the grassy portion of the market. He was telling tales of lore when Adamine passed by on her way to the meat. She caught snippets of his tales.

"She had long, long hair, and it was the most beautiful in all the land…"

She also heard the words of the teacher.

"It is the people's choice on whether or not decisions should be made. A king is only as powerful as those he intimidates. When man stands up against those kings, it puts the rulers in an uncomfortable place. It makes the king realize that he is nothing but a man. You hold the power. All of us hold the power to change the world…"

Grinning at the odd words these humans spoke, Adamine finally made it close enough to the market stall where the woman was now cutting chunks of meat to sell. A pointed tongue came out to sweep across her bottom lip, and Adamine looked at her surroundings.

According to Firmalione, humans had a thing called currency. They did not share their meals. They traded them. Bartering was a good way to trade things, but the price of a pie and the price of gold was very different. Therefore, they had created a way of trade. Using items called coin, people bought and sold goods and wares. Adamine had no coin, and she had no gold and no pie. All she had was her speed and her cunning.

Her body tensed. She leaned down like a viper ready to strike, and it was then that Adamine saw a boy out of the corner of her eye. No. Perhaps, _boy _wasn't the right word to call him. He was tall, broad shouldered, and more of a man than a boy by physical standards. But that wasn't what got Adamine to look at him. What got her to look at him was the fact that he saw what she was up to.

He stood tall with his shoulders back. Most of his face was shielded by light as it filtered through the many fluted, doric columns that lined this market. Even though he wasn't looking directly at her, Adamine could tell that he knew precisely what she was up to. That befanged grin of his was proof enough.

Baring her own fangs at him, Adamine got into position. He could look all he wanted, but he had better not rat her out. Determined, Adamine approached the stall. As soon as a customer distracted the merchant at the other end, she went in for the kill. Her hand snatched up an apple at the same time that she grabbed the leg of another meat on the table.

Adamine moved so quickly that the merchant sputtered before she screamed. The green eyed thief could see the plump woman fumbling about as she stretched a reaching hand in the direction of Adamine's hair. The lengths wisped right through the merchant's round fingertips, and the skirts of the woman flopped about before she caught herself against her stall. As Adamine sunk her fangs into a turkey leg, the woman howled, "Thief! Thief! Someone catch that hellion!"

Unfazed, Adamine kept running. Her unnaturally sharp teeth shred the meat off the turkey leg, and she ate as much as she could while she ran. Her body was burning energy at the same speed with which she took it in. The apple that had been in her hands got tossed into a bag she'd made herself, and she scooped up more edibles while she escaped.

Adamine grabbed cheeses and venison. An orange was tossed into her satchel at the same time that she nabbed a loaf of bread. The winter was going to be harsh this year, and she needed this food to survive.

It was that or be eaten by the wolves. The domesticated humans would have plenty for her to steal.

More merchants squawked at her. They dove for her. They tried to snatch her right up. Ah, but Adamine was quick. She slipped through their hands like warm butter. Her body twisted this way and that way. She dove straight through the legs of an awaiting man before scampering back up to her feet.

Laughing at their failed attempts, Adamine leaped atop a table. Her dirty, bare feet stepped all across fine linens as she escaped people coming at her. When a man darted across a vase display, Adamine jumped to grab onto a long drape hung from the top of a stall. Her smile couldn't have gotten wider when that male crashed into the vase merchant. Immediately, screaming came from both sides of the group.

With her open mouth, Adamine ran and she ran and she ran. She'd never felt as alive as she did right now. With her bag stuffed with enough food to keep her for the next few days, Adamine couldn't have felt more successful. Each barefooted step went in the direction of victory while dust kicked towards the townspeople chasing her.

Her laughing mouth was still open until she smacked her face into the back of an armored man. Her eyes grew wide as she took in the sight of his weapon. This human had a spear in his hand and cold in his eyes. When he turned around, Adamine's heart pumped ice into her veins. That gaze of his penetrated deep inside of her, and for some reason she couldn't get her body to move.

Fear held her immobile.

The man was big. He was armored. He was a threat. Adamine wasn't sure where an exit was as people began to close in on her. Those cold eyes pierced her deep as he took in the sight of the female on the dirty ground.

She wanted to move. She tried to move. But she couldn't. That stare had pinned her through the heart to freeze her to the earth. The shock at his hand on that spear confused her.

Humans were supposed to fear weapons. Not wield them!

Gritting her teeth when an extra apple bounced out of her bag, she saw the guard's brows furrow. "Thief!" people cried behind her. People were still running for her, and this man was armed. He looked to be making a decision before he finally started moving.

When a hand came to snatch her up, she felt herself get lifted from the ground. Strong arms caught her by the wrist, jerking her forward. Feet floundered in the air until she caught her footing, and when she turned her head to the guard, she saw the armored man hit the dirt.

What? Who? How? When?

"This way!" a masculine voice called out, and Adamine tossed her head in the direction of the boyish man creature that had been watching her at the stall. His hand was warm and calloused around her forearm. She could feel him tugging her close when they dove into an alleyway.

With an arm around her back, he stuck them between two closely pressed buildings. A passel of guards charged by as Adamine's chest heaved against his, but they weren't done yet.

"Come on. Come on. We're too close to town," he urged, and Adamine blinked up at him. From his oddly cut hair to his strange facial tattoo, this human male was different from the others in the marketplace.

He didn't give her long to look at him. Hastily, he pushed her ahead until they reached a wooden fence. His hands were on her hips in an instant. With a strength Adamine had never felt before, he lifted her up from the ground.

Her hands were magnetized towards the top of the fence when she heard feet charging. "Get over the fence. I promise I won't look up your tunic." He hollered from behind her, but Adamine didn't understand what he meant.

Why would he want to look up her tunic? Adamine had nothing of value up her shirt. All she had was the parts of her body the clothing hid.

Deciding that she didn't have time to worry about it, Adamine hiked her leg over. The fabric came clean to her hips when she heaved herself to the other side, and she didn't understand the hot scarlet across his skin when he hefted himself over.

As guards filled in from behind, the hand that had released her locked right back on. He took her running through another alley. Bare feet kicked up dust with their hustling pace. As soon as they were out in the open, the male hissed, "Ah. Shit! They're everywhere!"

When Adamine was pulled into the light of the town with him, she saw exactly what the male was talking about. More guards. They took one look at their faces, and one cried, "I found them!"

"Come on, girlie. We can't stay here!" her sudden comrade barked. Never letting go of her, he charged them through the streets. His body moved fast like a deer being chased, but he didn't have the same grace as they did.

No. This male moved with raw power, more like a predator than prey. He moved like Adamine moved.

Keeping up with him, Adamine maintained a breathing pattern. She took in breaths with her nose then blew them out with her mouth, making a circular unit to keep her lungs calm. Her eyes were narrowed in focus when she pronounced, "The woods!"

He did a double take at her sudden proclamation but nodded his head. Taking a sharp turn, the two of them bypassed the charging guards and leaped over another fence.

Sheep dashed away at the sudden intrusion on their lands, and Adamine laughed at another animal she hadn't eaten yet. White bodies with black faces made tufts of clouds when the couple blew through them. The livestock was nothing but a bleating and puffy summer's sky letting two scavengers fly by.

They ran so hard and so fast that there was no way the armored guards should have kept up, but those guards didn't stop. Adamine could still see them coming. When she found a wide spanning creek, she caught sight of a hole just large enough for them to fit into. "In there!" she called out.

She took the reins and dipped inside of the rocky and muddy burrow. Crawling on all fours, Adamine quickly got to the deepest portion of the hole. Her chest heaved when she finally threw herself back on wet ground. It felt like sludge against her thin clothing. Mud covered her bare calves, and she heaved to catch her breath.

Soon enough, the guards were on the top of their hideout. Adamine could hear heavy feet stomping around on top of the cave. She held her breath tight as she listened in to muffled voices.

"Damn! We lost them. How the hell did we lose two damned kids?" one cried out.

"They couldn't have gotten far," a calmer voice pronounced.

"The male was Anima. I could tell! He had the red eyes," the excited male harped.

"Anima? In Wolfrun? I thought the army murdered the last of the natives."

"Apparently some of the demons slipped past them. Doesn't mean we can't clean up the army's mistake."

Adamine's emerald eyes grew wide. Murder? What good would killing do for them? Humans didn't eat other humans. They ate deer and cattle and pigs. There was no sense in killing what someone didn't eat.

As for herself, she had only stolen food that never belonged to anyone in the first place. Life was survival of the fittest. Adamine was swift and strong. She deserved that food more than that hefty merchant did. Why? Because Adamine had fought for it.

"Come on. They likely went this way," the calm voice stated. Adamine heard the shifting of his armor. Just the press of his heavy boots on their burrow hideaway got clumps of mud tumbling downwards.

Adamine didn't think that she breathed when she felt the feet finally move off the top of their hideout, and for a while there, she and the male just sat in the mud as it bubbled from their weight atop it. Adamine looked at him. He looked at her.

Even in the darkness of this muddy place, Adamine could see his strange, red eyes—eyes that the guards had mentioned. They were red like a white rabbit's, and they blinked at her for a moment before shutting completely. Waves upon waves of laughter suddenly erupted from between full, pink lips, and the male guffawed, "We totally fooled 'em!"

Slowly, a grin crept up Adamine's face. She suddenly found herself laughing alongside him as the adrenaline pumping her heart slowed down. They _had_ done it! They had actually gotten away from the guards even after hearing that they wanted to _kill _them! As ludicrous as such an idea was that escape was… It was absolutely, positively awesome! Even though she didn't really understand it, she felt like she'd committed a feat of triumph.

Her face stretched out in a goofy grin, and Adamine joined the rich, hearty laughter pouring from the man. He didn't have a romantic laugh. It was neither cute nor attractive. It was loud and obnoxious and one hundred percent real. He laughed like how Adamine expected an evil sorcerer to laugh. Easily, she joined in.

"That was amazing!" Adamine proclaimed, laughing until she snorted. At that ridiculous snort, they took one look at each other before snickering once more.

When the relief finally subsided, they didn't leave their mud hut. If anything, they relaxed inside of it. Their luxuriating bodies simply rested in the thick muck sealing them to their spot.

"You sure know how to steal," the guy told her.

Adamine grinned, feeling like that was a compliment in some way. "Thank you. You sure know how to run." Her mouth didn't stop grinning as she took in the sight of her new ally.

He had his hair shaved on either side of his head. Strange symbols had been cut inside, more closely shaved to the skin than the rest of it and that tattoo... Adamine had one similar.

It was the first time that Adamine had seen anyone with a facial tattoo like herself. But where hers had been placed over her left eye, his ran between his eyes. The tattoo was a tribal figurine of two crossing scythes where Adamine's was a dragon that twisted down her face.

That wasn't the only thing that Adamine found interesting about this human. His face as a whole was unique, distinguishable from any human around now that she'd gotten time to look at him. In the marketplace everyone had looked the same. Unnamed humans were all alike until one got up close and personal, and as Adamine took in the face of her unlikely ally, she knew she would never be able to forget his features.

This male had a triangular jaw line that bulged out at the sides. Where his jaw came up she noticed his slightly pointed ears. His lips were pulled back into a wide grin with sharp canines dripping down into his mouth. They weren't odd looking. They were just sharper than any other human teeth Adamine had seen. Underneath those teeth and canines was a flat chin with a slight dimple in the center.

Looking closer, Adamine turned her attention to those crimson eyes. They were slightly slanted upwards. This human held an exotic look to himself. Thickly lashed red eyes, sharp teeth, and sun kissed skin. Adamine had never seen a human in this typically cold region with such an appearance. She felt the word attractive coming to her lips, but for some reason she just couldn't get the word out. It made her face hot, another strange human behavior for her to acknowledge.

A look of pride crossed his face, and Adamine felt more heat rise from that goofy grin. "Thank ya. My name's Spiro Polterom. What's yours?"

"Uh… My mother named me Adamine Terra."

"Huh. That's a funny way to introduce yourself." He leaned back. As soon as he skimmed his hand across his tattered pants, he leaped up. That reaction got Adamine's body jerking, and she looked for any enemies coming into their burrow. "Whoa, there! Chill out, girlie. I just wanted to give you something you dropped," he explained, reaching an apple out towards her.

Adamine blinked for a couple of seconds as she admired the offering. Her emerald eyes took in the warm hue of the apple. It was round with growth and the brightest of reds. The vibrant color glistened in the space, calling to her still empty stomach. Without thinking twice about it, Adamine put two hands on the ground in front of her. Leaning over, she sunk her fangs down into the apple he'd offered.

When Firmalione offered food to her, it was to hand feed her. That was just what Adamine was doing. Therefore, she took eager bites of the crisp, clean apple. There was something about fighting for a meal that made it taste so much better.

Even so, she didn't really understand the flustered expression crossing the male's face. While she slowly chewed on the offering, he turned his head to study what must have been a very interesting glob of mud.

Was he embarrassed that she'd stolen? No. That couldn't be the reason. He'd bragged on her hunting skills.

"You ain't normal. Are you, girlie?" he asked of the glob.

Adamine wiped her face with the only clean part of her arm then stated, "Normal is an illusion. What is normal for the dragon is chaos for the sheep." She paused. "At least, that was what my mother always told me."

Once she had finished the apple in a few quick bites, Spiro still held it in his fingertips. To reciprocate Adamine withdrew an apple from her satchel. A grin swept across her face as she offered the ripe, red object to him. "Here. Eat."

Dirty fingernails moved to run through the shaved sides of his hair, and Spiro admitted, "Thanks but no thanks. I already ate. Keep it for yourself."

Instant scowl. "It's rude to not take what is offered to you," Adamine pouted, using the firm voice her mother had always taken against her stubborn daughter.

At that, she was rewarded with a snicker. "Bossy, aren't we?" His dark brow cocked up. A hand reached out instead of a mouth, and Adamine felt the weight of the apple get lifted from her fingertips.

Firmalione would have eaten from her hands. This human did not. Some kind of custom?

Once Spiro brought the item to his lips, he sank his teeth inside of it. As he munched, he asked, "So, where ya from, weirdo?"

Though she didn't know what _weirdo _meant, she thought she knew what he was asking. Crossing her legs beneath her, Adamine explained, "I'm from the forest around Wolfrun. Gods of Lora know that I wouldn't have come to the town had my mom not run off a while back."

After a few simple crunches and chomps, Spiro had topped off his apple. He looked at her thoughtfully, judging her expression. It was lost, nervous. "So, you live in a shack like me and my mates. Got ya. Why'd your ma leave ya?" he wondered, settling into conversation easily enough.

"I do _not _live in a shack. I live in a cave. And… I don't know why my mom left me. She just… left me. Without her, I'm not sure how I'll stock up for winter." Her eyes flowed to the same glob of mud Spiro had looked at earlier. She saw no benefit from staring at the goo, but for some reason, looking off into the distance felt good to her. It helped her think.

Again, Adamine thought, _Human mannerisms are so far over my head._

More importantly though, Spiro's question had been one of her own. It had stewed inside her skull for days after her mom left. It still brewed there after all these weeks.

Adamine had to figure out why her mother had left her.

Typically, Firmalione would tell Adamine what she was doing before flying off. This time, Adamine had been given no warning, only seven emeralds—a stone uncommon to the Adaman Forest. One night she had been curled up against the long, cold body of her mother, and the next morning Adamine had been alone. In the coming weeks, her mother hadn't returned.

All Adamine found herself asking was "Why?"

Spiro adjusted his leg and kicked her thigh lightly with his foot. "Oi. Ye may talk like a book, but don't get all quiet on me, girlie. Lotta us lose our ma and pa. Sometimes, it's too tough being a parent, and they ditch us. Don't mean we gotta worry 'bout it. They don't wanna take care of us. We'll just take care of ourselves."

"But… I don't know how I'm gonna take care of myself this winter. Animals are going into hibernation. The food's dying. Usually Mom gets food from far off places but without her…"

Adamine's hands moved to play with a string that was coming loose on her tunic. There was so much to do in preparation for the winter. She had to make sure the cave was fully stocked, so she would survive.

She ran her fingers across the cloth in her grip, twisting the string around one finger and watching it unravel as she thought. Just when she felt the weight of her situation pushing down, Spiro's foot prodded her thigh once more.

"If it's food you're worried about, I've got plenty. That's what me and my gang were doing in the town today. Besides, what you were doing in the agora was better than hunting. You were straight up stealing, girlie, and doing a right fine job of it. My gang could use a girl like you," Spiro snickered. He leaned back to steady those odd, crimson eyes on her.

"Your gang?" Her head tilted at what she was assuming to be another offering of sorts. Adamine had never been around humans for any extended amount of time. Her mother wasn't human. She was a goddess. Adamine and her mother lived alone in the forest with nothing but each other to depend on. She really wasn't sure what to expect from this male these humans called an _Anima_…

"Yeah. Me and my gang. We're a bunch of orphans that take care of each other outside of town. Our kind isn't exactly accepted around humans."

"What do you mean _our kind_?"


	8. Meet the King

**Blah. I spent so much time away from my stories that I forgot how I wanted them all to go. I'm not too sure if I'll finish them now, especially since I've been getting back into my book writing groove. If anyone has suggestions for how the story needs to go, HELP ME PLEASE!**

* * *

Meet the King

"Alrighty, then!" Evergreen cut into Adamine's flashback. Her hand came up to pinch the bridge of her nose, and she sighed, "The guild got back together not too long after that. So, that's… one, two… What? About five weeks ago? That means you're still in the first trimester."

"Tri—"

"The baby still looks like an alien blob right now and isn't as vulnerable," Black Pearl cut in.

In understanding, Adamine's mouth formed a perfect O. "So what about the competition?"

"You're pregnant and still worried about fighting. Actually, no. I'm not surprised. Well, like Porlyusica said, just keep careful. Surely, you'll still be able to fight since the baby's so tiny. If you turn to stone around it, the impacts likely won't damage anything internal," Evergreen explained.

The Fairy Mage's brows drew inwards when Adamine hopped onto two feet. "That's cool, then. So long as I get to fight."

"Yes, yes. So long as you get to fight."

"Oh, and Ever?"

"Yeah?"

"Let's keep this from everyone."

* * *

It was a couple days later that Captain Kenwae's ship drew to port in Lancet. A riot of festivities ran rampant in the capital city of Lance. Banners were hung up high with guild symbols drawn, painted, and printed upon them. Fangirls eagerly lined up behind a thick rope guarded by Lancet's Magician's Alliance.

The scene was a balm on Adamine's eyes as Kenwae's men tossed ropes out to hold the ship. It gave just the slightest hint of relief as Adamine relaxed her arms against the ships railing.

People screamed out the names of their favorite Fairy Tail mages.

"Natsu!"

"Gray!"

"Erza!"

"Lucy!"

"Laxus!"

They all screamed out from various people. A mostly male crowd screamed, "Mirajane!" Adamine couldn't say as she blamed the males. Mirajane was a doll, and the woman was a favorite trainer of hers. Erza, Mira, and Adamine's training sessions had become quite the event at the guild, even to the point of being shown on _Sorcerer Weekly_.

It wasn't until a motorbike came hauling ass down the road that Adamine finally heard her name join the rally of the crowds. But it wasn't screamed in adoration.

Coming hot around a corner, Catori Polterom's sleek, black bike hauled ass. The bike reared up like a raging steed. Her front tire popped down with a vicious slap against the asphalt. Without giving hardly any care to her surroundings, Catori Polterom flew through the city streets.

People leaped away before they got ran over. The balloons in children's hands were forgotten as the kids ran for their lives. Like a professional driver Catori avoided a child who hadn't gotten out of the way quick enough. She moved in seemingly slow motion to lean over on her bike, and as the kid stared in horrified awe Catori took a victorious bite out of his cotton candy. Slow motion ending, the speed demon ripped her body back vertical.

With the pink fluff hastily gobbled up in her plump lips, she took a split second turn towards a ramp. Her bike charged up the ramp at a breakneck speed, and when she leaped skyward, Catori did her traditional greeting to her big brother.

With Winry screaming out, "Adamine, save me!" behind her sister. Catori distended her long tongue to flaunt her Kindred Spirit tongue ring. Her hand came up in the rock sign, and Catori came to a screeching halt. Brake smoked flowed all around her like she was some kind of smoke demon.

At just the sight of Catori, Freed turned tail and ran.

Catori didn't seem too phased by it. If anything, she simply pulled her helmet off her purple head and shook it off like she didn't even see him. Beautiful, chaotic locks of hair slashed out violently, and when Catori stopped freeing her helmet hair, she beamed with her canines flashing.

When Catori caught glimpse of Freed bolting at the sight of her wicked entrance, Adamine and Evergreen shared a glance. They were going to have to be on Freed Duty. The Rune Mage wouldn't approached Wild Thang Catori by himself. Bickslow's little sister was just the slightest bit obsessed with his pretty boy good looks.

Shaking her head, she ignored the squawks of Catori greeting her big brother and hunted Freed down. She was coming back up from the captain's quarter's with Freed in a headlock when Catori screamed out, "Big Sister Mina!"

"Tori, I missed you!" Adamine cheered. She crushed the girl tight and suddenly, they weren't hugging anymore. They were in a competition of who could squeeze who the tightest.

Fangs shimmered in the late evening sun as Catori locked her arms by the wrists around Adamine's back. "You look different. Happy couple living making you gain weight?" the female taunted.

Adamine sneered with her fangs elongating. She spun out of Catori's hold then lifted her leg up to smash it against Tori's blocking arms. The girl's eyes narrowed. Had Adamine not been so used to the woman's Forced Possession Seith Magic, she might not have noticed the glistening of crimson power twinkling in blue eyes.

With her eyes closed Adam replied, "Ha! If I gained any kind of weight it would be muscle. You know I don't eat junk. Drives your brother crazy."

Using her ears, Adamine hunted Catori down. When she heard footsteps running close, she dove in to tackle Tori to the deck of the ship. The woman let out an _Oof_ of sound, but she didn't stop from slamming her fist at Adam's throat.

Hastily, Adam covered her weak spot with her shoulder. She rose up from Catori and bared her fangs. She was going to release a miniature version of her dragon's roar at the girl, but Catori said something that made Adam's head tilt off to the side.

The woman taunted, "So no feelings of nausea, tiredness. Back Pains?"

Even though her eyes were still closed Adamine wondered, "What are you insinuating, Catori?"

A laugh that went unseen by eyes still held tightly shut caught Adamine's ears. The body pinned beneath her shrugged upwards. Tori whispered, "So… she's not pregnant. Come on. What is Bickslow hiding? Or…"

Opening her eyes, Adamine blinked down at Catori. The woman was studying Adam's stomach like she was trying to count each strand of sinew that made up her six pack. "Tori?"

Blue eyes flew to meet Adam's emerald gaze. The nervous laughter spilling from Catori's lips was only got Adamine's brows to furrow. _Did the child have a soul already? Could Catori sense it?_

Catori didn't let her think about it too much. The woman rose up when Adamine offered her a hand. Leaning in closely to Adamine, Catori checked her out from her boots to her cropped biker jacket. "You're not wearing your usual clothes," Catori pointed out.

"No. It's early winter in Lancet. My vest and shorts won't do me much good at this time of year." Adamine pointed to the direction of dark clouds filled with snow.

Catori wasn't letting whatever was in her head go. She prowled around Adamine's body, checking out every inch of covered skin. "So… no nausea? Lightheadedness? Nothing?"

Adamine shrugged. "Well, I got motion sickness even after taking a Troia pill. Aside from that. No. Why the medical questions? You aren't Winry."

Unlike battle crazy Catori, Winry's magic was steeped in healing. Winry could put her soul within the body of another person to suck out feelings of terror, rage, and hate. Her techniques also could heal certain mental illnesses. Since their father, Spyro Polterom and master of Kindred Spirit, had multiple phantom souls inside of his body, he was constantly bombarded by memories and the lives of the dead. Winry could calm those souls by absorbing their pain. For someone like Catori who used her magic in a manner similar to her brother to be asking medical conditions, perhaps, something was wrong with Adamine.

Catori stopped hovering Adamine and flipped her Mohawk out of her eyes. Her purple locks were decorated even more elaborately than usual. She had apparently taken extra care to get her Mohawk to lay obediently down on the side of her head before it became a long blue-purple tail that ran between her shoulder blades. Not only was Catori worried about Adam's health, but she was dressed up. Was she that eager to see them?

The woman tilted her head this way and that before pressing shrugging her shoulders. Those light blue eyes of hers were studying Adam's lower abdomen when she stated, "Oh. Nothing. Win told me that Bix was acting suspicious, and I'm trying to find out what the secret is. For some reason, I can't see your soul. Must be because of your Mate Link with my brother."

Adamine nodded her head slowly. Perhaps, that did make sense. About a year ago when Adamine's soul had almost been devoured by the mage Zeref, Bickslow had wound up putting his soul inside of her because he accidentally touched her Hellhound's Heavenly Fire.

Ever since that day, a sliver of green magic had connected the two of their souls together. When Adamine and Bickslow physically sealed the deal on their relationship, the Mate Link, as his Seith Mage family called it, had shielded her soul from everyone's eyes but Bickslow's. According to his parents, it was a spell created long, long ago when Seith Magic was still infantile. It was a protective spell to safeguard the soul of a lover.

Adam didn't exactly understand all the details, but she did know that Bickslow was currently the only one who could see her soul. That and the fact that they could feel each other's emotions through the link. Even be able to level out their magic between each other. If anything, the link had made them better fighters. Adam could still take him out in a fight though. A fact she reveled in.

Changing the subject, Adamine asked, "Are you going to be patrolling the grounds for Norman slavers while we're in? Isaac told me about the murders. Urian and I are going to be patrolling for Fairy Tail."

Catori's head lifted up at the mention of Adamine's cousin Prince Urian. "Is he going to be in the games?"

"Urian? Oh, yeah, but he won't be playing for Fairy Tail. He already got Master Makarov to let him play for the Royal Guard."

"Do you think that the old man will let you or Bickslow come to play for Kindred Spirit?"

Adamine wrapped her arm around Catori's shoulder when she heard the man at the docks proclaim that another ship was coming in. As they approached the side of the ship, Adamine could see Makarov scanning the area. He may have looked happy-go-lucky and excited about the prospect of the Winter Grand Magic Games, but he was keeping an eye out for anyone who would desire to harm his children. He may not have been the best of grandfathers, but he was most definitely the best of guild masters. Adamine had long ago sworn that she could follow that man's leadership to the grave. "I'm more than positive that gramps would let you steal one of us. I'm playing second reserve for Fairy Tail. To have two back up members was my idea for these games." Adam leaned in closer with a slick smile creeping up her face. "Even if the master says you can't, I'm sure that I can pull some strings for you. I am still the Princess of Lancet, ya know."

"My brother's dating a princess. When is that going to get through my head?"

"Likely about the same time that I start liking nobles," a new voice explained. When avian cawing hit her ears, Adamine turned to feel Cinder resting against her shoulder. The moody phoenix showed its affection by chomping down on Adamine's hair and tugging lightly.

"Hollis! Who else is here?"

"Just me. Zac told me to pick you up while the rest sign autographs and other crap. Can you entertain the others so they don't know she's missing?" Hollis cocked a brow at Catori.

"Of course!" She gave him a mock salute. "Just make sure she comes back in one piece." Tossing him a flirty wink, the wild Polterom sister dashed off before her twin could notice Hollis wrapping one hand around Adamine's bicep.

"What's that thing the Human Torch says before he flies off?" Hollis taunted.

"Flame on?"

Immediately, a burst of crimson flared around them. Cinder's body had flown up from Adamine's shoulder and wrapped impressive wings of flame around them. As soon as they were engulfed, the phoenix swooped down for Hollis to toss Adamine on a body that had multiplied at least twenty times larger.

In seconds, they were up in the air and flying towards Castle Lance. It stood tall and imposing in the center of the city. The square was at its main entry, and various booths had been thrown up by travelling craftsmen from northern villages.

From its highest spire where Isaac's bedroom rested to the various points around it, Castle Lance had been made to cast an imposing shadow on the city beneath it. Windows that were just large enough for someone to shoot arrows out of dotted the castle in a defensive display of passive aggression, and the moat around it was saltwater for sharks to swim in instead of crocodiles. One fall from that drawbridge would turn a bloody man into a bloody mass.

Good thing they were flying then.

Not even having to direct Cinder, Hollis leaned back and gave Adamine the cheekiest grin she'd ever seen on the former criminal. "Ya know, princess, if you weren't wrapped up with that Seith Mage, I'd be doing everything in my power to get you on my good side."

"But I already am, Hollis. We're friends, comrades even." She flashed him an innocent grin.

Rolling his golden eyes at her, Hollis sighed, "Innocent in mind. Destructive in body. My Princess of Contradiction."

"So what's Iaac want?"

"Ah. Nothing too important. Just a bit of recon. He's gathering us former Exiles to meet with you and Prince Urian."

"But we left Urian at the ship." She turned back to see the ship still at port. Urian couldn't fly, and throngs of women would fling themselves at him when he tried to leave. He may love Mirajane, but women still loved him. "It'll take him hours to meet up with us."

"Not if Loki was Skinwalking as him."

She nodded and muttered, "Here's your sign."


End file.
